Rio Ferdinand details main issue in Chelsea team after narrow 1-0 loss to Borussia Dortmund in UEFA Champions League
Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand has expressed his opinion on Chelsea's failure to sign a striker after their 1-0 UEFA Champions League defeat at Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday (February 15).
The Blues, who have now registered just two wins in their last 14 games, slumped to a dispiriting loss during their trip to Signal Iduna Park. Karim Adeyemi netted the decisive goal of the clash in the 63rd minute after covering more than an entire half in a blistering counter-attack.
Graham Potter's side outshot their opponents, but the club failed to make the most of their opportunities against Gregor Kobel. Thiago Silva handled the ball into the net and Joao Felix hit the crossbar, while attackers like Kai Havertz, Mason Mount, Mykhailo Mudryk, and Hakim Ziyech were toothless throughout the entirety of the away clash.
A narrow defeat in the first leg of the tie. https://t.co/jiQFcuxcjl
Speaking on BT Sport, Ferdinand claimed that Chelsea's decision to not prioritize a first-choice striker in the transfer market is undoing all of Graham Potter's good work on the pitch. He elaborated:
"I think Potter will find some positives in there. He'll be saying: 'Slowly but surely we'll get it right.' They haven't got a number nine in this team. They spent all that money in the last two transfer windows and didn't get an out-and-out number one. That's the problem."
Heaping praise for Potter's offensive tactics, Ferdinand added:
"Long term, I think he'll go and get that. They're doing everything up to that point really, really well. The way the team's been able to pass the ball through the lines and get into those really good areas. But again, they got undone by a clinical bit of finishing which they didn't have in their own team."
Chelsea are set to host Dortmund at Stamford Bridge for their 2022-23 UEFA Champions League last-16 return leg on Tuesday (March 7).
"It's just come through on social media, Todd Boehly's put a bid in for the whole squad of Dortmund..."
@Carra23 is enjoying Dortmund's full-time celebrations in front of the Yellow Wall. 🟡 https://t.co/OkauFaadsm
Graham Potter delivers honest verdict on Chelsea's UCL performance at Dortmund
Speaking at a post-match press conference, Chelsea manager Graham Potter lauded his team's performance at Dortmund. He elaborated:
"It was a very strong performance, especially the second half. We created a lot of chances and efforts on goal but we just have to score. I thought we had good attacking movements, clarity in terms of how we wanted to attack and got into right areas. The attitude was really positive as well."
Appreciating the away supporters, Potter continued:
"You can see the supporters' reaction, they were really positive, they can see the performance of the team, they gave us a fantastic reception. We are a team in progress, we know there are a lot of positive things there."