Graham Potter has barely put a foot wrong since his appointment as Chelsea boss in September but is sure to face his biggest test yet when a resurgent Manchester United visit Stamford Bridge tomorrow.
The Old Trafford club is making impressive strides in its own rebuilding project under Erik ten Hag and will arrive without Cristiano Ronaldo, dropped from the squad after his tantrum during his side’s dominant win over Spurs on Wednesday.
Both clubs face a difficult road back to the summit of the Premier League — for now the two giants of English football look well set for an intriguing top-four battle and Potter will be under no illusions that he can afford to miss out on the Champions League.
Initially, there is no pressure on Potter to compete for the league title but the Blues’ new owners still expect him to deliver a place in the top four. They believe the squad they personally built, without the help of any sporting directors, is capable of winning trophies right away and expect to compete to win the Champions League, FA Cup and Carabao Cup.
Of course, if they feel Potter is performing well, they will look favourably upon him even if he falls short, knowing that there are new structures and appointments to come behind the scenes.
Potter remains a remarkable choice. They have hired a coach who has only ever won one Swedish cup as a manager in professional football and who was not considered for the United job late last season. United not only thought Ten Hag was more suitable for their job, but also Mauricio Pochettino, Luis Enrique and Julen Lopetegui.
Tomorrow’s game will be a chance for Potter to show that he can win these huge matches. It will be a true test against a comparable power who also have their eyes set on returning to a dominant position in English football.
Unlike Chelsea, the Red Devils are without a trophy for some time, not winning one since 2017. In Chelsea’s case, they have become a cup team, winning four major trophies in that time. However, they have not even been close in the league, falling between 19 and 33 points short ever since last winning the title under Antonio Conte.
Tomorrow’s game will be a chance for Potter to show that he can win these huge matches
Last season, both teams completed major additions to their strikeforce by signing Ronaldo and Romelu Lukaku. In both cases, their personalities and styles of play only undermined their side’s efforts.
Lukaku is now on a cut-price loan at Inter Milan and remains on the club’s books. Ronaldo will not be available for the match on Saturday after storming out of the stadium in the 89th minute on his side’s 2-0 win over Tottenham.
The 38-year-old was one of the new Boehly-Clearlake regime’s transfer targets in a lavish summer of spending that reached a record £270million.
Former manager Thomas Tuchel refused to sign Ronaldo, thinking that his side did not need a striker, only to change his mind late on in the window and move for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
In return, the owners wanted Tuchel to push for a title challenge, giving him a minimum aim to at least finish in the top four. Unfortunately, his slow start helped make the club’s mind up to sack him after a poor working relationship emerged.
In contrast to United’s nightmare situation with Ronaldo, Chelsea’s move to sign Aubameyang is paying off nicely. No longer the disenfranchised figure he appeared at Arsenal, the former Barcelona striker appears reinvigorated and is leading from the front again.
