“It was a step forward for us” – Graham Potter makes confident claim despite Chelsea draw against West Ham
Despite Chelsea only earning a draw against West Ham United, Graham Potter believes the team's performance at the London Stadium showcased signs of improvement.
Atletico Madrid loanee Joao Felix opened the scoring for the Blues in the 16th minute of the match. British record signing Enzo Fernandez was the provider, showing off his incredible passing range.
Emerson, however, struck against his former club to equalize. The Blues should have been awarded a penalty after Thomas Soucke stopped Conor Gallagher's late effort with his hand inside the West Ham penalty area.
Enzo is every Chelsea fan right now: https://t.co/etG4ThY08p
The game finished as a draw with the teams tied at 1-1. Chelsea are ninth in the table after the result. They currently have 31 points on the board after 22 league games. Speaking after the match, Potter showed optimism. While it was the third draw in a row for the west London-based club, the former Brighton & Hove Albion manager opined that the team showed signs of progress. He told BT Sport (via Football365):
“I think you could see positives in the performances for us, especially in the first half. It was a step forward for us in terms of the previous game and lots to go forward with."
Potter further added:
“We are in a process where we are getting guys up to speed, guys match minutes so the ability to sustain what we want to do is the challenge for us so there were positives in the game.”
Joao Felix impresses yet again in Chelsea colors
While Joao Felix was sent off in his Premier League debut against Fulham, the Portuguese showed flashes of brilliance in that game. Felix returned to action against West Ham after completing a three-game suspension. The Atleti loanee was once again impressive.
Chelsea fans even created a new chant for the 23-year-old. They managed to take a dig at city rivals Arsenal in their new song, which goes like this (via GOAL):
"Joao Felix WOAH. Joao Felix WOOAAH. He came from Portugal. He hates the Arsenal!"
While Felix was linked with a move to Arsenal in January, he ended up at Stamford Bridge. Fans, however, won't let go of the opportunity to take a shot at the Gunners.
The Blues will return to action on February 15 as they take on Borussia Dortmund in the round of 16 of the UEFA Champions League.
Joao Felix has arrived 🤩 https://t.co/WuZu1NwY3z