Chelsea stars were given two days off after Saturday's defeat to Southampton, where the side slumped to another low in the clash at Stamford Bridge. James Ward-Prowse's free-kick was the deciding factor in the fixture against a much-changed home side that were unable to replicate the positive steps shown in previous weeks.
The result has added more pressure to Graham Potter, who has come under fire as of late for the poor form his side are currently in. "I’m sure there will be people out there that think I’m the problem, absolutely," the head coach told the press after the defeat. "I don’t think they’re right but I’m not arrogant enough to say their opinion isn’t worth articulating.
"My job is to help the team, keep working through a team period, we’ve had to make some changes today and the truth is we took a step back in our performance in the first half. The response in the second half was good, but it wasn’t good enough.” It doesn't get much easier for the former Brighton boss as next up is a London derby against Tottenham, with the side having a full week to prepare.
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Potter will be hopeful that the extra two days off he has given his players will allow them to come back fresh and firing in a huge match. While some will have relaxed, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was back out on the football pitch... well an astro turf pitch anyway.
The Gabon international was pictured on Instagram playing on a five-a-side pitch with his Chelsea shirt on along with his name and number on the back. It comes amid an unusual time for the forward, who has had limited minutes since joining last summer and appears likely to get very few before the end of the season.
Aubameyang was exiled from the Champions League squad so that new signings could be registered and links have since appeared surrounding a transfer away. It remains to be seen exactly what is next for the former Arsenal captain, but it appears as though his future could be away from Stamford Bridge.
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