Some Chelsea fans are still processing the Thomas Tuchel sacking as the Graham Potter era kicked off at Stamford Bridge with a draw against RB Salzburg in the Champions League.
"You have to look at the football club here. The tradition, the quality, the size of the club, the ambition of the club to compete in the Champions League and compete at the top of the Premier League. It's a completely different challenge from the one I've had," Potter said on the decision to replace the Champions League-winning manager.
"I had three fantastic years at Brighton, an amazing football club, but I am thankful to the ownership here for putting their trust and belief in me to work with an exciting group of players to be competitive and put a team on the pitch that our supporters are really proud of. I'm very excited, as you can imagine, and looking forward to getting going."
READ MORE: Thomas Tuchel breaks silence on Chelsea sacking with sincere message to staff, players and fans
With these pre-match quotes in mind, Tuchel's successor suffered the same problems the German endured during the latter part of his tenure with the Blues wasteful in attack vs Salzburg, surrendering more points in Group E as the west Londoners face an uphill task to make the knockout stages. Currently sitting bottom with a solitary point from their opening two games, a doubleheader against AC Milan looms with points needed from these two fixtures to keep hopes of Champions League qualification alive.
"We can't lie, it's not the position we want to be in, but we have to respond. It's as simple as that. It's going to be a tough group, I think, but there is enough quality in the team and squad that we can respond, and we have to look forward to those two games," Potter concluded on what must happen next in his post-match press conference.
Europa League football could be staring the former Brighton manager in the face which may not be the worst-case scenario for his own ambitions, especially as previous managers like Rafa Benitez and most recently Maurizio Sarris had great success in this competition.
As well as the fans, Tuchel and his team will be keeping a close eye from afar on what happens between now and the end of the season, not only domestically but also in Europe too. In fact, one of Tuchel's assistants was present at the game on Wednesday night and sent a message to the fans in the process.
Arno Michels put a message up on his Instagram story in the aftermath, saying: "Yesterday's game against Salzburg, minute 21.." Clearly referring to the loud and raucous support directed at Tuchel by the fans who were constantly chanting his name during proceedings to show their gratitude and support of the now previous regime.
Michels concluded his message: "Thanks to all supporters for this emotional moment [followed by a blue heart emoji.]"
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