Graham Potter did not shy away from admitting that Chelsea’s 2-0 win over Dortmund in the second leg of the last 16 in the Champions League ranks as one of his biggest victories in his career.
Chelsea who are in resurgence mode lost the first leg of this fixture 1-0 a fortnight ago, but following their 1-0 win over Leeds on Saturday- a win that ended a six-game winless run, the side was able to put up another convincing display enroute to their 2-0 victory over the German side on Wednesday at the Stamford Bridge.
Raheem Sterling and Kai Havertz were the goal scorers in the game, and now after witnessing his side advance to the quarterfinals, Potter who before joining Chelsea had never competed in Europe was left ecstatic.
“To win a game to go into the last eight of the Champions League you’d have to say it’s up there with wins and evenings in my career.
“This evening the players and the supporters were tremendous – we had to be against a team that were doing so well, 10 games on the bounce winning.
“I think over the two legs we deserved to go through. We played a good game in Dortmund but we didn’t score, today we did.”
Owing to Chelsea’s miserable form lately, fans had been calling for the sacking of Potter who took over the reigns at Chelsea in September last year after Thomas Tuchel was let go. There had been reports of the club holding a crisis meeting in that regard.
Asked if he spoke with the club co-owner and chairman Todd Boehly, Potter said yes, and emphasized he ‘is still here’.
“Yes. I’m still here! There is always going to be those types of questions and noise but my job is to prepare the team as best we could and support them because they’d been suffering. No one has enjoyed the run we’ve had.
“Inevitably in life, you are going to have good times and bad times. It is how you react to the bad times.”
The quarterfinal berth has been secured, but Chelsea have a mountain to climb in their pursuit for a Champions League slot next season.
The Blues are currently at risk of missing out on Europe’s most elite competition as they sit tenth in the Premier League, eleven points adrift of the fourth place currently occupied by Tottenham Hotspur.
They will return to league action on Saturday against Leicester City at the King Power stadium with hope of continuing with their new found form.
