"I have nothing to apologize or say sorry for" - Graham Potter reacts to boos from Brighton fans during Chelsea's 4-1 loss
Chelsea manager Graham Potter has explained that he does not feel the need to apologize to Brighton & Hove Albion for the way he left them for the Blues.
Chelsea locked horns with Brighton at the Amex Stadium in their 12 Premier League match of the season today (October 29). It was also Potter's 10th game in charge of them in all competitions.
The match was also the first time Potter was returning to Brighton after leaving them for the Blues last month. However, the game did not go according to plan for the visitors as they succumbed to a 4-1 defeat.
Defeat this afternoon.
@WhaleFinApp | #BhaChe https://t.co/8Yzxs1ch98
Potter was thus handed his first defeat as Chelsea by his former employers Brighton today. It was an afternoon to forget for the English tactician, as well as Marc Cucurella, who swapped the Seagulls for the London giants in the summer.
While was a fan favorite during his three-year stint with Brighton, their fans were not pleased with the way he left the club. He was thus received with boos from the home crowd at the Amex today.
Potter, though, feels he does not owe the Seagulls faithful an apology for leaving the club. He claimed that he did his best during his time with the Sussex outfit and left the club on good terms. The Chelsea boss was quoted as saying by BBC Sport:
"I have nothing to apologize or say sorry for. I think I did a good job at the club and left it in a good place but people are entitled to their opinions."
Graham Potter on boos from Brighton fans:
"I have nothing to apologise or say sorry for. I think I did a good job at the club and left it in a good place but people are entitled to their opinions."
[via @BBCSport]
Potter went on to stress the need for the Blues to learn from their defeat to Brighton going forward. He added:
"It's part of the process. You have to suffer and feel pain in order to grow and get better. Nobody said we were the finished article. We have to take the pain today and learn from it."
Brighton vs Chelsea: As it happened
Leandro Trossard opened the scoring for Brighton just five minutes into the match at the Amex. Own-goals from Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Trevoh Chalobah saw the hosts go into half-time with a three-goal lead.
Kai Havertz reduced the deficit for the Blues to two goals early on in the second half. However, Potter and Co. failed to find a way past Roberto Sanchez again despite bringing on the likes of Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang and Hakim Ziyech as well.
Pascal Gross then went on to restore Brighton's three-goal lead in the dying minutes of the game. Chelsea will now look to bounce back from their loss when they host Arsenal next weekend.