Chelsea supporters have been told that they should "not belittle" Kalidou Koulibaly following the Senegalese defender's slow start to life at Stamford Bridge.
Signed by Thomas Tuchel for a fee reported to be worth £34million in July, Koulibaly appeared off the pace during the five Premier League matches he has figured in and has been left on the bench by Tuchel's predecessor Graham Potter for the last two matches - with the Blues picking up a late winner against Crystal Palace thanks to Conor Gallagher.
Potter elected for a back four at Selhurst Park, with Thiago Silva and Wesley Fofana the two centre-backs. Though Silva may have been lucky to avoid a red card after the referee judged he had not denied an obvious goalscoring opportunity when deliberately knocking the ball away from Jordan Ayew with his hand.
