Kai Havertz heaped praise on Graham Potter
After Chelsea’s victory over Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday night, Kai Havertz showered praise on Graham Potter and claimed the result demonstrated that Potter is a “major manager.” At the same time, Havertz took aim at analysts who “believe they know better than him.”
A big amount of burden was removed from Potter’s shoulders when Chelsea turned in the most spectacular performance of Potter’s tenure thus far against Dortmund. They came back from being down by a goal on aggregate to win their Champions League round of 16 matchup against Dortmund.
After suffering a 1-0 defeat in the first leg of the tie a month ago, the Blues were able to recover and advance to the quarterfinals on a joyous night at Stamford Bridge thanks to a goal from Raheem Sterling and a controversial penalty from Havertz. The controversial penalty saw the German retake and score a second spot-kick due to encroachment after the post kept out his first attempt at the penalty spot.
Havertz asserts that the team was already persuaded that the former Brighton manager was up to the challenge behind the scenes, despite the fαct that many people have questioned whether the former Brighton boss is cut out for such a high-pressure, elite-level role at Chelsea.
After the win, he was interviewed by beIN SPORTS and said the following: “Well, of course we know that the pressure is coming at him, but you can see that he is a big manager because in the media, I cannot even imagine how many people have to talk [about] him.”
“England is home to hundreds of different coaches, all of whom believe they are more knowledgeable than him. Yet, everyone in the locker room is aware that he is a major personality, a major manager for us, and that he provides a significant amount of assistance to all of us, including myself. Hence, we are fully supportive of him, even though it’s possible that other people don’t notice it; nonetheless, I believe that everyone realized that he’s a significant manager today.
Although their chances of finishing in the top four of the Premier League are virtually nonexistent given that they are now ranked 10th, the fαct that they have advanced to the last eight of the Champions League is a pleasant relief for Potter and ensures that Chelsea’s season will continue.
The enthusiasm, passion, and quality that were on display during Tuesday’s victory will fuel hopes for a great run in this year’s competition. The draw for the quarter-finals will take place on Friday, November 9th.
And Potter, who admitted that the victory means a lot to the team given the ‘difficult period’ that they’ve been going through in recent months, couldn’t contain his joy after experiencing his greatest moment as head coach so far.
“I can’t put my finger on it [how I’m feeling]!” The conclusion is filled with a great deal of feeling. In the end, it was a tight situation, but the boys played exceptionally well. It is wonderful for all of us here that they were able to prevail, and I am overjoyed for them in their success.
“The atmosphere in the changing room was absolutely incredible. We have been going through a challenging time, therefore this competition holds a great deal of importance for us. We wαnted to move through and make it into the final eight, and this puts us in a good position for the upcoming weeks. After a trying stretch, the boys have bounced back with two wins and two clean sheets, which is fantastic. You will get into situations like that in life; the important thing is how you react to them. The players have been outstanding.
After that, next up for Potter and company is a trip to Leicester for the Premier League on Saturday, and then on Friday of the following week, they will find out who their quarterfinal opponents will be in the Champions League.
Benfica are in the draw after their dominating 5-1 victory over Club Brugge on Tuesday. Bayern Munich’s match against PSG (which is currently 1-0) and Tottenham’s match against AC Milan (which is currently 0-1) will take place on Wednesday night.
In the second legs that will take place the following weekend, Manchester City will play host to RB Leipzig (1-1) and Liverpool will go to Real Madrid (5-2). Also on tap are matches between Porto and Inter Milan (0-1), as well as Napoli and Eintracht Frankfurt (2-0).