Chelsea manager Graham Potter said he has “nothing to say sorry for” after he was subjected to a hostile reception from Brighton fans before the Blues’ 4-1 Premier League defeat at Amex Stadium.
Potter led Brighton to their highest-ever top-flight finish of ninth last season before leaving the Seagulls for Stamford Bridge six games into the current campaign.
The 52-year-old was booed before kick-off by the home fans, who chanted “Potter, Potter, what’s the score?” in the direction of the away dugout after Leandro Trossard’s strike and own goals from Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Trevoh Chalobah had given the hosts a comfortable half-time lead.
Asked about the Brighton supporters’ animosity, Potter said: “People are entitled to their opinions. I think I did a good job at the club and left it in a good place.
“Once the crowd were so engaged it was a difficult one for us. The scoreline is a painful one.”
Kai Havertz nodded in Conor Gallagher’s exquisite cross to give the visitors hope, but Pascal Gross capped a miserable afternoon for Potter and his players with a close-range finish after Chelsea goalkeeper Edouard Mendy parried Julio Enciso’s shot into the German’s path.
After emerging from the Amex Stadium tunnel to a chorus of boos, matters only got worse for Potter as his side produced a defensive horror show to gift Brighton a dream start.
In a chaotic opening, Trossard’s calm finish put the home side in front after Thiago Silva – who had already produced two goalline clearances to deny the Seagulls – surrendered possession cheaply in his own half.
Like Brighton’s first, the hosts’ second and third goals were entirely self-inflicted. Loftus-Cheek stuck out a knee to inadvertently steer Gallagher’s flick-on into the net via the crossbar, before Estupinan’s delivery was guided past his own keeper by the somewhat unfortunate Chalobah.
“We didn’t recover,” Potter said afterwards. “We have to take responsibility a bit for the first half. We have had a lot of football but that’s no excuse. We couldn’t quite get to that level.”
Chelsea did have chances of their own – Christian Pulisic firing wide from a promising position and Robert Sanchez tipping Gallagher’s looping header over the crossbar – but Havertz’s header early in the second half failed to spark a revival and Gross finished off an incisive counter-attack late on to rub salt into the visitors’ wounds.
“Unfortunately we missed the pass or didn’t execute it,” the Chelsea boss continued. “We didn’t take our chances and they did.
“It’s part of the process, You have to suffer and feel pain in order to grow and get better. Nobody said we’re the finished article. We have to take the pain today and learn from it.”
Source: BBC
