Once again, Stamford Bridge was witness to a new leader in the dugout. Graham Potter has spent less than a week in the job and experienced his first night of Champions League football in person, a scenario where there is little room to hide.
With the postponement of the Blues' clashes against Fulham and Liverpool, Wednesday night's match would be the only opportunity for pundits and supporters alike to cast their judgement until after the international break when Chelsea take on Crystal Palace. Of course, that may have some benefit in some of the squad adjusting to their new coach's methods before a hectic period in October.
Emerging from the tunnel ahead of kick-off, Potter gave and received applause from the crowd ahead of kick-off as a new era dawned for the Blues. Unfortunately, he was not afforded a fairytale start, but each story has to start somewhere, even if it was with a draw.
READ MORE: Chelsea player ratings vs FC Salzburg as Raheem Sterling shines in Graham Potter's first match
football.london takes a look at five things we learned from the first 90 minutes of Graham Potter's Chelsea.
Formation
"We're going for good experience and good know-how of the Champions League and this football club," said Potter ahead of the game, before adding on the formation, "I won't give too much away to keep people guessing".
While it largely looked like Potter had opted for a back four, there was plenty of talk that three central defenders could be utilised against Chelsea's Austrian Champions League opponents. With Cesar Azpilicueta starting ahead of Wesley Fofana and Kalidou Koulibaly perhaps offering the biggest surprise.
Regardless, in the end, the team announcement offered plenty of intrigue and anticipation and the opening minutes maybe even more as onlookers attempted to pick out the team's shape. In the end, the Blues set up with Marc Cucurella and Azpilicueta on either side of Thiago Silva, with Reece James allowed plenty of licences to roam forward. Raheem Sterling appeared to offer elements of a wing-back going forwards but did not have too many defensive demands, with Cucurella almost being asked to provide double duty, carrying some full-back responsibilities too. Jorginho would drop into the backline to claim the ball with Mason Mount, and Mateo Kovacic was encouraged to look forward with Kai Havertz and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang leading the line.
As Chelsea became accustomed to under Thomas Tuchel, flexibility looks like it will be key in defence and beyond. It is still too early for too many takeaways, but Potter's words may give Fofana and Koulibaly some hope, though whether anyone else could perform the role Cucurella did remains to be seen.
Raheem Sterling
The wing-back wasn't required to do any defending. It certainly wasn't a role many would have expected Sterling to take up when he emerged as Tuchel's priority signing over the summer and thought as the key to unlocking Chelsea's attack. The Blues' former boss had mostly deployed Sterling high up the pitch, comprehensively in the forward line to put fear into opposition defences. While Chelsea had not looked fluid going forward, the former Man City ace had still managed three goals before Potter's arrival.
Set very, very wide against Salzburg, Sterling looked as threatening as ever. His deeper position provided more space for the winger to run into, and the 27-year-old still managed to make his influence felt around the 18-yard-box as he repeatedly arrived at the far past.
It's impossible to argue with his 48th-minute goal, with a very cool touch taken before a finish from the edge of the box that almost looked too easy. Even under a new goal, almost £50million was well spent for the club as he recorded his 250th goal involvement in all competitions at the club level.
Ben Chilwell
If Potter's formation is something he hopes to take forward, it could leave Chilwell in a very difficult position. The Blues' wing-back had been sparingly used by Potter's predecessor in the opening weeks of the season, but many would have expected him to have a concrete role moving forward, particularly after his impact against West Ham. If nothing else, there was a degree of hope in how Tuchel introduced Chilwell last term to impressive impact.
However, with the system used against Salzburg, it is difficult to see were Chilwell would naturally function. The combination of Cucurella and Sterling appears quite specialist, with the Spaniard's position in the back three and taking on defensive duties out wide being particularly pertinent. The former Leicester star will be under no illusion of the size of the task he now has to complete to earn his place in the starting XI.
Potter is sure to have more formations and tactics to implement in the coming weeks, and Chilwell could yet be the favoured option in another set-up, but perhaps once to keep an eye on.
Issues won't be solved overnight.
What must be remembered is that Potter has yet to have much time to leave his impression on the squad or to implement the minutiae of his tactics. It must also be remembered that the club did not part ways with Tuchel due to his coaching abilities so much as his first with the system Todd Boehly and co hope to put in place at Chelsea.
As such, issues that were present last week aren't going to resolve immediately. So while Chelsea dominated possession and showed some attacking intent, perhaps it should be surprising they came away with just one shot on target in the opening 45 minutes. By the end, Sterling had managed a goal, but with 73% possession, Chelsea could only manage four shots on target.
Likewise, the Blues have shown some vulnerability in defence this term and will be frustrated with their attempts to prevent Noah Okafor's goal, with a number of opportunities seeming to present themselves. Thiago Silva's failed tackle may headline the build-up to the goal, but the Blues' loss of possession and the ease in which Salzburg transitioned up the pitch will be of equal concern.
Potter will be pleased for more time to prepare with no match in the coming weekend before his team departs on international duty.
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