Enlarge
“When you win, you get your smile back,” said Graham Potter at the press conference prior to the match against Borussia Dortmund. And it is that the three points won by the Blues in the last Premier League match against Leeds United take a breather both the English coach and a squad increasingly pressured by the lack of results. The future of the season for the London team, which is in 10th place in the English league table and which is separated by 11 points from the Champions League positions, depends almost exclusively on Graham Potter’s pupils being able to turn it around to the European tie against the Germans (follow the game live on As.com). Chelsea was defeated by the minimum (1-0) in his visit to Signal Iduna Park and will seek to stay alive in the highest continental competition, coming back in the second leg of the round of 16.
Likewise, Graham Potter’s pupils were eliminated from two cup tournaments in England (FA Cup and Carabao Cup) at the hands of Manchester City, so reaching the final rounds of the Champions League is the only joy they could take to the mouth at the end of the course the fans Blues. While the London team have barely won two games so far in 2023, Borussia Dortmund reach the resolution of the round of 16 tie in top form. With a streak of 10 consecutive victories (among all competitions), the borussers they are co-leaders of the Bundesliga, tied on 49 points with Bayern Munich. The now pupils of Edin Terzic, eliminated last season in the group stage, have in their hands the possibility of reaching the quarterfinals of the Champions League after two seasons, when they were defeated against Pep Guardiola’s team with a 4-2 aggregate.
Entrusted to João Félix, who in the press appearance prior to the clash stated that he was “very happy” in London, since as a Chelsea player he feels “free”, Graham Potter has doubts about Reece James and Christian Pulisic, while N ‘Golo Kanté, despite already training with the group, is still not 100% ready to enter the squad. Thiago Silva’s injury and Benoit Badiashile’s non-registration force the English coach to reinvent himself again in defense. On the other hand, in the box borusser, Gregor Kobel, Donny Malen and Marius Wolf have traveled with the team. Who will miss the second leg of the round of 16 is Karim Adeyemi, author of the great goal of the first leg against Chelsea but who was injured weeks ago against Hertha Berlin. A momentous drop in Edin Terzic’s plans.
