Under-fire Chelsea boss Potter responds to Blues fans chanting for Tuchel during heavy Man City loss

WHAT HAPPENED? Goals from Julian Alvarez, Phil Foden and a brace from Riyad Mahrez saw City breeze past a disappointing Chelsea side and into the FA Cup fourth round. Blues fans began voicing their disproval at the Etihad Stadium after seeing their side go 3-0 down at half-time, reigniting an old favourite sung during Tuchel’s reign in West London. Potter acknowledged the supporters’ frustrations, noting that such criticisms come with the territory.

WHAT THEY SAID: “We can’t do anything but do our jobs better and work harder,” the Chelsea manager told reporters after the match. “We understand the supporters frustration but our job is to do our job. There are always other opinions, criticism and negativity, but that’s part of the challenge. The results in a small space of time aren’t positive. You can make excuses and look for reasons, or you can say that it isn’t good enough and both of those answers are correct. Clearly we’re suffering as a football and it’s not nice but it’s where we are at the moment.”

THE BIGGER PICTURE: City’s dominant display was all the more damning for Potter given that several key players – including top goal scorer Erling Haaland – were left on the bench throughout. Pressure is mounting on the Blues boss as his side have now recorded just two wins in all competitions since November, sitting 10th in the league and having been eliminated from both domestic competitions.

IN THREE PHOTOS:

Tuchel Champions League trophy

© Provided by GOAL

WHAT NEXT FOR CHELSEA? There is no respite for Potter’s side as they travel to in-form Fulham in the league on Thursday, with their west-London rivals currently sitting three points clear and three places higher in the table.