3 big calls that Graham Potter made against Crystal Palace which paid off for Chelsea
Chelsea returned to winning ways in the Premier League after a hard-fought home victory against London rivals Crystal Palace.
Kai Havertz's sublime header in the 64th minute was enough to secure all three points for the Blues. The victory also ended their disappointing four-game run without a win in all competitions.
However, a lot of credit needs to go to head coach of the side Graham Potter, who got his selection right for the game. The English tactician made a couple of big calls which paid off during the 1-0 home win against Crystal Palace. Let's take a look at three decisions that paid off for the Blues.
#3 Handing Benoit Badashile a rare start
Having conceded eight goals since the re-start of the 2022-23 football campaign in December, it was expected that Potter would need to find a solution to fix Chelsea's defense.
The English tactician decided to end the centre-back pairing of Thiago Silva and Kalidou Koulibaly and instead opted for Benoit Badisahile to play alongside the Brazilian.
On paper, it was a big call from Potter to drop Koulibaly for the former Monaco defender as he had just recently joined the Blues. Recall that the West London giants splashed a sum in the region of £35 million to secure Badiashile's services from Monanco this January.
Big win at home 💙
Thank you for the support! https://t.co/ysGBiKAtu4
The 22-year-old defender went on to make a decent debut for the Blues against Crystal Palace. He also helped Potter's team record their first clean sheet in four games.
Badiashile made a total of six clearances against the Eagles. He also made four tackles, won 5 ground duels and had a 97.1% pass accuracy.
#2 Decision to start Trevoh Chalobah at right-back
Ever since Reece James picked up a knee injury against Bournemouth in December, the Blues have only been left with Cesar Azpilicueta to fill in at right-back.
The Spaniard has since started three out of Chelsea's last four games in all competitions. However, he hasn't been impressive in this position as his lack of pace has made him a target for opposing teams.
Potter opted to drop Azpilicueta for the game against Crystal Palace, as they have some of the league's most-pacy and technical wingers. Notable names include Wilfred Zaha, Eberechi Eze and Michael Olise.
In his absence, the Blues head coach made a huge call to play Trevoh Chalobah at right-back in a bid to contain Palace's pacy attackers.
Chalobah bounced back fantastically today. Did a great job at RB.. 😮💨 https://t.co/cv9YRpmpNj
The 23-year-old defender however repaid the faith of his manager as he impressed in an unfamiliar role. Chalobah was pretty solid on defense, making four recoveries during the match, and did contribute in attack as well.
#1 Keeping faith in Kai Havertz
The German was one of the few players who faced much scrutiny from the fans prior to the game against Crystal Palace.
Havertz has had a difficult spell in front of goal and was far from convincing in the Blues' last two games against Fulham and Manchester City.
However, Potter opted to keep faith in the 23-year-old forward rather than start either Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang or new signing David Fofana.
FULL-TIME Chelsea 1-0 Crystal Palace
Kai Havertz’s header proves to be the difference at Stamford Bridge, securing the victory for the Blues
#CHECRY https://t.co/OZhuyrrcnI
The decision eventually paid off, as it was Havertz who scored Chelsea's only goal of the game and secured the much-needed three points. It also reduces the pressure mounting on Potter's shoulders currently.