Chelsea coach Graham Potter said his new-look team was making progress in their expensive rebuilding programme, despite a latest failure to win on Saturday when they were held 1-1 at West Ham United.
Potter, who has been criticised by some Chelsea fans since replacing Champions League-winner Thomas Tuchel last September, has struggled to find a way to meld the Blues’ new signings with a host of players returning from injury.
On Saturday, British record signing Enzo Fernandez supplied the pin-point pass for on-loan Portugal winger Joao Felix to score, giving Chelsea fans a glimpse of the club’s potential after January’s spending spree by its new American owners.
Potter said he was delighted with Chelsea’s early dominance at the London Stadium on Saturday after they struggled to assert themselves last week in a 0-0 draw at home to Fulham.
But he was frustrated by the way they allowed former Chelsea wing-back Emerson Palmieri to equalise, unmarked at the far post, barely 10 minutes after Felix’s goal.
He said the second half, when the Blues created fewer chances, was probably a truer reflection of the state of Chelsea’s development after the January influx of players and the return of others from injury.
“So that’s the work in progress, that’s what we have to work with, but it was a step forward, I thought, overall from the previous game,” Potter told reporters.
Chelsea remain in ninth place before the weekend’s other fixtures and have won only once in seven league games.
Asked whether Chelsea fans could expect more from their team after such an expensive string of signings, Potter said: “Chelsea fans are entitled to their view, of course they are, and I understand that when we’re not winning they’d be disappointed, like we are.”
He also said his side were unlucky not to be awarded a late penalty when substitute Conor Gallagher’s shot was stopped by Tomas Soucek’s hand but referee Craig Pawson waved play on.
“It was a good save,” Potter said. “I didn’t know Tomas could get down that easily and save like that.”
West Ham coach David Moyes said he had not seen replays of the incident nor what looked like a West Ham winner a few minutes earlier when Soucek put the ball in the net only for Declan Rice, who headed the ball on to him, to be ruled offside.
Moyes said he was relieved the Hammers had not been buried in the game’s opening spell when VAR ruled out two Chelsea goals for offside.
“Chelsea were much better in the first half,” he said. “The big thing was that we didn’t go further behind.”
