Ben Chilwell has praised his manager after a tactical switch against Manchester United helped to swing Chelsea's fortunes.
The Blues had been outplayed and largely dominated for the opening 35 minutes at Stamford Bridge before Graham Potter substituted Mateo Kovacic on for Marc Cucurella and earned his side more control. The change was followed by a different formation as the home side went to a 4-3-1-2 and overloaded Erik ten Hag's midfield.
The switch stemmed the flow of United attacks and allowed Chelsea to build much more than they had been able to in a first half that largely passed David de Gea by.
READ MORE : How Jorginho outsmarted Bruno Fernandes as Chelsea concerns grow for Graham Potter
If the first half was United's then the second was definitely Chelsea's as Potter's tactical change allowed more control for Jorginho and Kovacic whilst Mason Mount enjoyed more joy, though De Gea was still largely unneeded.
Having made changes at half-time against Aston Villa last week and being forced into an early sub at Brentford in midweek, Potter is becoming used to shifting things up when needed, and Chilwell praised his manager's reaction to the game. “In the first 30 minutes, they were really on top of us and dominated us a little bit so we made a tactical change," he said.
"I was the closest player to him [Potter] so he pulled me and said we were going to go to a back four. Credit to him and to us because we adapted with it well, especially as it wasn’t even half-time but during the first half. We went with the diamond in midfield where we overloaded them and grew into the game, especially in the second half when we controlled the game a lot more.
“The formation change was really positive for us and it gave us a lot more possession so it was a positive tactical change and we dealt with it well, which the manager expects. The fans got behind us, we grew in confidence and then got the goal. We hoped that would be it but it wasn’t to be.”
Chilwell has received criticism for his role in Casemiro's late equaliser after the fullback dropped into the box early and was overpowered by both the Brazilian and Scott McTominay, but the England international was trusted to stay on over Cucurella and had enjoyed a good game up until that point.
Teammate Ruben Loftus-Cheek admitted that it wasn't the best of games and that his side need improve quickly under their new manager. "It was scrappy, both teams weren't clean on the ball," the 26-year-old told the Chelsea website. "It was just one of those games but I thought we had it [the win], we were defending well and then to be honest I don't know how Casemiro's got the power on that header to send it up and down. It feels like a defeat.
"There's two sides to the game and you have to do both if you want to be a good team. We want to match any team that comes here and it was unlucky for us to concede in the last minute. But we're not losing, we're winning and we are drawing which is a good sign.
"We want to be solid as a team first, that's the foundation going forward. You want to be good defensively and then on top of that have a freedom and a flow to go and score goals and create. That's the next step."
READ NEXT:
Chelsea's next five Premier League fixtures compared to Arsenal, Man City, Tottenham and Man Utd
How Jorginho outsmarted Bruno Fernandes as Chelsea concerns grow for Graham Potter
Why Graham Potter shouted at Jorginho and Ben Chilwell in devastating Chelsea draw vs Man United
How Reece James injury and Graham Potter Chelsea switch can unlock £50m 2023 transfer plan
Chelsea news and transfers LIVE: All the latest news, rumours and gossip from Stamford Bridge
