Chelsea manager Graham Potter has used Pep Guardiola's first season at Manchester City as a reason why he should be afforded more time at Stamford Bridge.
Potter has undergone some struggles at the London club since taking charge following the controversial sacking of Thomas Tuchel earlier in the campaign. Chelsea sit tenth in the Premier League and are already ten points behind fourth placed Manchester United.
Their latest defeat came at the hands of City on Thursday night. After arguably having the better of the first half, Chelsea struggled to keep up with the Blues in the second 45.
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Super subs Jack Grealish and Riyad Mahrez combined on the 63rd minute to score the only goal of the game for Guardiola's men. Looking ahead to Sunday's clash between the two clubs in the FA Cup, Potter explained that Guardiola's perceived slow start at the Etihad Stadium was a reason for him to be given more time too.
He told reporters: "The owners are billionaires so they’re quite smart. Smarter than me, that’s for sure.
"So they understand the challenges that we have and the direction we want to go in. I’ve been here four months and five, six weeks of that has been lost to international football.
"I think Pep was [at Manchester City] a year before they won anything, and then obviously Mikel [Arteta] and Jurgen [Klopp] took a bit of time. But obviously it’s maybe different for me, for some reason.
"But I don’t put a timescale on it. I know the responsibility we have here."
City have already ended Chelsea's hopes of progressing in the Carabao Cup having beaten them in the third round 2-0 prior to the World Cup break. Mahrez and Julian Alvarez were both on the scoresheet that evening as the Blues progressed.
The winner of Sunday's tie will go into the hat for the fourth round of the FA Cup. That draw will take place on Monday evening after Oxford United's clash with Arsenal.
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