Chelsea are looking to recover from their weekend humbling at Brighton and Hove Albion with Graham Potter aware of how quickly things can unravel.
The Blues were undone 4-1 at the Amex, the place where Potter previously called home, as they lost for the first time under their new manager. Champions League action is their next assignment as they look to get back to winning ways against Dinamo Zagreb in west London.
Potter's side are in the midst of a top four battle that looks set to span the entirety of the campaign. Chelsea haven't won any of their past three Premier League games but confidence in the group remains high after a summer of change in the capital. These are the latest news lines coming out of Chelsea.
Potter's crisis admission
A relaxed Potter insisted he is shutting out the noise after admitting “you are only 90 minutes away from a crisis” at big clubs like Chelsea.
The spotlight has been on the ex-Brighton boss since his expensively-assembled new side was crushed 4-1 by his old one at the Amex last Saturday. But Potter, who has already qualified for the knockout stages of the Champions League with Chelsea, remains calm.
He said: “In my job, or where I’m sat, you’ve got to be careful what you listen to essentially because people can talk and say whatever. It’s part of life. You understand when you’re at a club like this that you are only 90 minutes away from a crisis and you have to put things into perspective. You have to understand where you’ve been and what has happened, and look at it as intelligently as you can.
Lukaku edges closer to exit
Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku still appears to be on the way out, despite the Blues' change of manager.
The Belgian international was signed for £97.5m from Inter Milan in the summer of 2021, when Thomas Tuchel was still manager. He fell out of favour under the Champions League winning boss, though, and was loaned back to his former club after just one year.
Tuchel was sacked in September, with Potter taking his place, prompting suggestions there might be a way back for the record signing. Instead, though, it has been suggested the London club are still attempting to cash in.
According to the Evening Standard, Chelsea are looking for buyers for a player who scored just eight Premier League goals last season, though Lukaku's recent injury woes could be an issue. Inter paid just £6.7m to wrap up the current loan agreement, and both teams (as well as the player himself) are reported to be receptive to extending his stint back at the San Siro.
Koulibaly's title claim
It is a measure of the confidence instilled by Potter in his new Chelsea squad that Kalidou Koulibaly believes they can win the title.
The centre-half made the move from Napoli in the summer after a mass defensive exodus at the club. Already, after a change of manager, Chelsea are ten points off pace setters Arsenal but Koulibaly is confident this can be the year they end their title drought, which dates back to 2017.
“It will be Chelsea’s at the end of the season,” he told Italian publication Courier della Serra ahead of Wednesday’s Champions League tie against Dinamo Zagreb. "I want to write history here.”
