"This was another step forward" - Chelsea star Kai Havertz encouraged by 'improvement' despite 1-0 loss to Borussia Dortmund

Chelsea forward Kai Havertz is taking the positives from their loss against Borussia Dortmund in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday, February 15.

The Blues suffered a 1-0 defeat in the first leg of their Round of 16 tie at Signal Iduna Park via an excellent individual goal by Karim Adeyemi. The visitors created many chances but failed to convert any of them and are now winless in their last four games across competitions.

Despite the disappointing loss, though, Havertz saw some positive signs from Chelsea's performance against Dortmund. After the game, he said (via Reuters):

"We have had a lot of new players join in this window and I think you can definitely see us improving and getting that chemistry with one another now.

"This was another step forward, even though we lost. The result ... wasn't what we wanted, but I think we showed some good signs – especially in the second half – and we need to build on that."

Chelsea have failed to win any of their last 4 games in all competitions, their longest winless run since January 2018:

🤝 0-0 vs. Liverpool
🤝 0-0 vs. Fulham
🤝 1-1 vs. West Ham
❌ 0-1 vs. Dortmund

Desperate for a win. ❌ https://t.co/AlFHmh1TZD

Chelsea have spent over £600 million over the previous two transfer windows to sign 17 players. January signings Joao Felix (on loan) and Enzo Fernandez had good chances to score against Dortmund but failed to convert.

The Blues attempted 21 shots with eight being on target. Ruing the missed chances, Havertz said:

"I don't think we should be too unhappy with our performance because we created the opportunities, but it's just frustrating that we couldn't take any of them. We have to look at that and try to improve on that front."

The German himself enjoyed a decent outing, laying out a joint match-high four key passes.

Chelsea manager Graham Potter provides an update on Ben Chilwell

Apart from the defeat, there was another concern for Chelsea following their match against Borussia Dortmund.

Blues right-back Ben Chilwell has only just returned to action following a lengthy absence as he recovered from a hamstring injury. He started in their loss against Dortmund and was substituted in the 71st minute for Marc Cucurella.

Reece James and Ben Chilwell start together for the first time in 128 days… ✅ twitter.com/i/web/status/1… https://t.co/4YXT4IpmBD

Chilwell seemed to stretch his leg before being subbed and there were concerns about the same. However, Chelsea manager Graham Potter has stated that it was just a knock and perhaps fatigue. He said (via Football.London):

“About five minutes before he came off, he had a run down the side and had a kick on his ankle. I haven’t checked it over but I think it’s more a kick than anything else and probably a little bit of fatigue.

“That was his first start for some time so the idea before the game was to take him off at 60/70 minutes max. So that was the plan.”

Chelsea will host the second leg of their UEFA Champions League tie against Borussia Dortmund on March 7.