Chelsea has been dealt a severe blow with three new players joining the injury list after the Manchester City Game.
Graham Potter took on Manchester City, in a highly-anticipated Premier League encounter and it didn’t turn out well for the Blues.
Although they checked and effectively curtailed Manchester City’s dominance, they failed to record a single shot on target; they were less clinical in the final third.
Manchester City, on the other hand, held their breath and nailed the game perfectly to run away with all three points after Ryad Mahrez’s second-half goal.
The Blues now faces an uphill task in the race for a top-four finish. Nevertheless, nothing can be ruled out at this point. The top four spots is still open to all the big six teams in the Premier League, with Newcastle United set to gatecrash the race.
Apart from Chelsea’s abysmal display against Manchester City, Graham Potter now has a lot to worry about after the game. The Blues suffered a triple injury blow, adding to their worsening injury crisis. Three Chelsea players have been ruled out.
The Blues were already without Mason Mount, who suffered a knock in training for the game against the reigning champions.
Soon after, Raheem Sterling was taken off after just three minutes into the game.
The former Manchester City star and England international went down after a tackle against his England national teammate pal John Stones.
Sterling was not able to continue with the game and was subbed off with former Arsenal forward and Gabon international Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang coming on in his place.
As if that was not enough, the Blues’ injury woes were compounded when USA international Christian Pulisic was also unable to continue after 20 minutes of play.
The American wasn’t able to continue having been on the receiving end of another strong Stones challenge after he had the chance to give Chelsea the lead.
Pulisic’s withdrawal forced Potter to bring on a youngster with Carney Chukwuemeka getting his biggest chunk of Premier League action yet.
Meanwhile, Chelsea has lost several key players. Leading the list of Chelsea’s injured stars are Edouard Mendy, Reece James, Wesley Fofana, Ben Chilwell, N’Golo Kante, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, and Armando Broja.
Graham Potter was forced to name four teenagers on the bench to face Manchester City due to the injury crisis.
Chelsea is now 10th on the Premier League table, with 25 points after 17 games, 10 points away from the fourth-placed team, Manchester United.
Graham Potter faces a huge challenge now to return the team to winning ways and buckle up for the top four challenge. They will face Manchester City again in EFA Cup at the Etihad on Sunday 8 January before taking on Fulham in the Premier League on Thursday 12 January.
Graham Potter must avoid a second consecutive defeat against Manchester City at Etihad if he wants to remain relevant at Stamford Bridge but the injury blow to the team is another drawback for the former Brighton manager.
