Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is in Graham Potter's plans after all
Aubameyang made his return to Chelsea's squad for the first time since the closure of the transfer window. While Graham Potter had before and after every match in February assured reporters that the former Arsenal star just needed to train as he was to eventually earn his chance, it never truly felt like he would return to a matchday squad.
He made the trip across London for the matchday squad against Spurs however with Potter in desperate need of goal to turn around Chelsea's fortunes. The Blues boss explained his decision to bring Aubameyang back into the fold ahead of the game.
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He said: "The game against Southampton was a tough one for us and we had to make some changes. We want to maintain the same performance levels from Dortmund. Not to that and his [Aubameyang's] reaction, how well he has trained. He has experience which can help. He has trained well and he has pushed himself back into contention.
"We need to score, against Dortmund we did everything but that. Between the boxes we were good and one action in the second half cost us, and that is where we need to improve."
A cynic would suggest that Aubameyang's presence would be to try and head off the repeated questions that come. The wait to introduce him as the west London side struggled to produce a clear opportunity left questions, though whether it would have made a difference seems unlikely.
The Blues came out of the game with an xG of less than one and Aubameyang didn't make it onto the pitch until there was only eight minutes of normal time remaining. The 33-year-old managed just a single touch in his time on the pitch as Chelsea looked for a way back into the game.
Who was injured and who was not selected
Potter is left with big decisions ahead of every matchday given the sheer size of Chelsea's squad. The 47-year-old coach was without Armando Broja, N'Golo Kante, Christian Pulisic, Cesar Azpilicueta and Edouard Mendy as he once again made six changes to his starting XI.
A whole host of players who missed the defeat to Southampton returned - Reece James, Thiago Silva and Ruben Loftus-Cheek - meaning that another group had to make way. Trevoh Chalobah, Lewis Hall, Mateo Kovacic, David Datro Fofana, Carney Chukwuemeka and Marc Cucurella were all left out of Sunday's group.
Only Kovacic had an issue. Potter noted: “Mateo was ill. The rest were unfortunate to be out of the squad.”
Cucurella missed out on the squad for second match in a row having previously struggled with his form. Whether Potter has taken him out of the firing line or feels better equipped without him remains to be seen.
The big worry
There are plethora of worries surrounding Chelsea at the moment and no shortage of statistics to leave supporters waking up in cold sweats. There are certainly few things to help an easy sleep for anyone connected to the club at the moment.
Upon going behind it was always going to be a difficult task for Chelsea, who now average less than a goal per game in the Premier League and have found the net just once in their last six games. The Blues have only come from behind to record any points on three occasions over the whole season too.
Add to that, Chelsea are have went eight games without a win away from home, their most extensive run since 2000/01, hope quickly diminished following Oliver Skipp's strike.
More than anything, what may be concerning is that the opposition have not required to be particularly good to come away with three points. Chelsea have battled in two first halves against Spurs and Southampton where quality has been left wanting. On each occasion, the opposition found a way and Chelsea did not.
Top four a long way off
Tottenham provided an opportunity to reset and attack the remainder of the season with vigour. Going into the game, the gap was 11 points between the teams with the afternoon's hosts in fourth position. In addition, Liverpool and Fulham had already dropped points, while Newcastle, Brighton and Brentford were all without a game.
However, the Blues have no tasted defeat and see that gap open up to 14. They remain 13 points ahead of the Premier League's bottom-placed side.
Potter once again took responsibility for the performance but may cause himself more issues than he solves by comparing the situation the Blues are in to that of Mikel Arteta and Jurgen Klopp. Undoubtedly both went through their struggles as they laid their foundations
The Chelsea boss noted in his press conference: “There is always that question, absolutely, and you can’t stop the questions. While results are what they are, I accept it. It’s part of the job. We were talking before the game about watching the Arsenal All or Nothing and two years into Mikel [Arteta's] reign he is close to getting the sack and people want him out. It was seen as a disaster but things have now changed a bit.
"If you look at Jurgen [Klopp’s] situation, they haven’t got the results and all of a sudden people want him out. That is the nature of football. I haven’t done enough at this club to have too much good faith; I also accept that.
"My job isn’t to worry about that too much. I understand the question and where it comes from, but I have to try to focus on keeping on helping the team and supporting the players. I really like these players, they’re good lads. They want to do better and want to win. But at the moment we’re suffering and that is my responsibility."
Much of what he says may be correct but as he noted, there is little credit in the bank to draw such comparisons.
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