Chelsea's midfield hunt goes on
Graham Potter started with a midfield three at the Etihad Stadium, with Conor Gallagher, Jorginho and Mateo Kovacic all being chosen in Manchester. However, rather unsurprisingly against a trio of Phil Foden, Bernardo Silva and Rodri, they were dominated throughout the game.
Only when Denis Zakaria came on for the second-half did Chelsea look even half-competent in the middle of the pitch. Chelsea are interested in signing a world-class central midfielder this month but the deal to sign Enzo Fernandez has seemingly reached an impasse.
The 21-year-old wants the move to Stamford Bridge – that's been the case from the start of the club's interest. However, Chelsea are not willing to pay Fernandez's big-money fee all in one instalment - something Benfica say is a necessity.
If the Blues are completely unwilling to meet Benfica's demands, then it looks like the Argentine is going to remain in Portugal. If that is the case, then Chelsea will need to turn their attention elsewhere and they will need to do it quickly otherwise they could lose out in this market for dwelling on a lost cause in Fernandez for too long.
Potter hides inner fury
Potter spoke prior to the game about the fact that he has to speak responsibly and not let his emotions get the better of him when he is meeting with the media, and you could see that was the case again on Sunday evening. After just seeing his side thrashed 4-0 at the hands of Manchester City, Potter faced a room full of journalists eager to question him.
Inevitably, the majority of the questions were about his side's recent form and the pressure on him. However, there was a question about the away end and their chants about former head coach Thomas Tuchel and ex-owner Roman Abramovich.
"We can’t do anything apart from do our jobs better and work harder," Potter responded when asked about the chants. "We understand the supporters’ frustration, that is understandable and we'll respect that.
"Our job is to do our jobs, to keep working, see the situation for what it is, and of course there are always other opinions, negativity and criticism because the results haven’t been positive. That's part of the job and the challenge."
Potter's answer was very professional – talking about how the fans are allowed their opinions. He's right; of course they are. But inside he must be raging or at least upset about the current situation at Stamford Bridge.
Koulibaly worry
The form of Kalidou Koulibaly continues to dip. The Senegal international has been poor since returning from the World Cup in Qatar and it looks like he could benefit from a spell out of the side.
Sunday evening at the Etihad Stadium wasn't really the time to take him out of the team because of the situation at the back. Thiago Silva, 38, needed a rest more than the younger Koulibaly and it would've been unfair to throw new signing Benoit Badiashile in against City with just a couple of training sessions to his name at Cobham.
However, Potter may need to consider taking Koulibaly out of the side for when Chelsea make the short trip to Fulham on Thursday night. He's looked sloppy on the ball, his positioning hasn't been there and he's making silly, rash decisions.
He is not the sole reason of Chelsea's countless problems right now but for the sake of the team and the player, a rest might be the ideal solution.
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