”Potter Ball” in full effect as Chelsea win against RB Salzburg and secure UCL Knockout qualification

Chelsea have qualified for the knockout stages of the 2022/2023 UCL season after defeating Salzburg in Austria.

Here are 5 lessons learned from the game;

✓ Potter Masterclass In Austria :

In what was probably the most dominating half since the first half against Spurs earlier in the season, Potter masterminded an absolutely dominating performance from his Blues team.
Starting the match with two traditional “Wingers” Sterling and Pulisic, Potter had both supposed wingbacks high up against Salzburg’s narrow back-line thereby causing the Austrian outfit huge problems when defending.

With the team having a huge amount of ball possession, some attacking patterns on show were of the highest caliber as the Blues tore out their Austrian counterparts on one occasion with a passing sequence that started with Kepa Arrizabalaga and ended with an Aubameyang miss. Fans and neutrals would all have loved the free flowing moves the team put on show while also showing grits to defend and press aggressively when Salzburg had the ball.

Potter sure would be impress with the performance put up and the promise for more to come is evident for all to see.

✓ Thiago Remains Ever Reliable :

Age is simply a number and nothing more or less.
The above statement is proven a fact when the player in question is Thiago Silva. Playing in the center of the back three in Austria, Silva was back to his imperial best as he marshaled the defence and set-up attacks from deep with his passes.

Boasting of a pass completion rate of 89%, Thiago Silva completed the most passes in the game with 83. There are no signs of slowing down from the 38 year-old as signaled when he was fouled and landed awkwardly but advised to be kept on the pitch and continue.

Silva was solid throughout the whole game and won all 4 of his ground duels and 2 out of 3 aerial duels he contested. Although potentially being up the pitch too high and at fault for the only goal that Salzburg scored in this game, Thiago certainly remains on top of his game even at the advanced but young age of 38.

✓ Gallagher Stays Solid :

Making his first start in the UCL, Conor Gallagher played on the right of the midfield diamond and helped keep track of the Salzburg runners off the right as Pulisic played high on the right.

Having to drop deep while building up play, Gallagher did look shaky at times when on the ball in deeper positions but grew in confidence as the game wore on.

Having a success rate of 100% accurate long balls, Gallagher looked on the money when crossing the ball in advanced areas as he found Harvertz and Aubameyang on separate occasions for decent attempts on goal. Conor also completed the most dribbles in the game with 2 and remained ever diligent as usual with his work rate off the ball catching the eye as he recorded 100% success rate for tackles won and 78% ground duels won.

✓ Kovaciç’s Importance, now beyond doubt :

Fitness issues and unavailability at crucial times has led to a section of the Chelsea fan-base doubting the importance the it’s Croat midfield dynamo, Mateo Kovaciç. Still nursing a knee injury and playing on with it, Potter cannot afford to leave out Mateo Kovaciç in his present form.

Playing as dominating as he presently is, it is almost impossible for any manager to leave out Kovaciç and he keeps finding a reason to be involved more than usual for someone carrying a knock.

Playing off the left of the midfield diamond, Kovaciç was tasked to supplying attacking players and he did so brilliantly as he had an 80% long ball accuracy and 86% pass accuracy, showing how tidy he was in possession.

His all round style meant he also did help out defensively by wining 4 of the 5 ground duels he contested. Kovaciç capped an all round beautiful display with a goal and can be happy with a successful night out in Austria although had to come off at 68 minutes with some calf pain.

✓ Kai’s Best Game Under Potter yet?

Often having the demeanor of a nonchalant and disinterested player has not helped German sensation Kai Havertz but those aforementioned adjectives have been the best to describe the form of the former Bayern Leverkusen player under new coach Graham Potter.

Often playing as the striker or second striker, Kai has been too languid in possession and struggles to impact games. Here against Salzburg, Kai played on the tip of the diamond and the closest to Aubameyang as a second striker.

Having Aubameyang right before him seemed to give Kai a bit more space as Aubameyang often had the attention of the Salzburg center-back pairing and that afforded more time to Kai who had the luxury of freedom to pick his spot right on the edge of the box before beautifully finding the corner of the net.

The goal was beautifully taken but Kai’s game as a whole wasn’t much of an improvement as he again struggled to retain the ball and had a few moments of slow decision making putting him under undue pressure before loosing the ball.
Kai got dispossessed 4 times and wasn’t successful with the only cross he attempted. Kai also had a poor percentage of ground duels won of only 30% but his dribbling did improve with 2 of his 3 attempted dribbles completed.

Kai has got the ability and with very little time left before the World Cup, all connected to Chelsea will be hoping Kai rediscovers his best form heading to Qatar.

Man Of The Match; Kovaciç 9/10

Next up for Chelsea is a game against Potter’s former team, Brighton.