Chelsea have one final shot to keep their season while Borussia Dortmund visit Stamford Bridge inside the final sixteen of the Champions League on Tuesday defending a 1-0 first leg lead.Despite an all-time record investment of over £500 million ($603 million) in a single season by means of the Blues’ new proprietors, Chelsea are languishing in 10th inside the Premier League and crashed out early in each home cups to Manchester City.
Graham Potter stopped the rot with a 1-zero victory over Leeds on Saturday to end a six-game winless run.
But the way of victory failed to quash doubts that Potter’s process could be on the road towards the German giants.
Dortmund tour to London at the returned of a ten-recreation triumphing run that has taken Edin Terzic’s guys into a percentage of the Bundesliga lead along Bayern Munich.
Chelsea, via assessment, are searching up at Brentford, Brighton and Fulham after three wins of their last sixteen video games.
Scoring dreams has been the biggest hassle for Potter’s men, with the strain on their high-priced new recruits to start handing over.
Champions League policies meant most effective three of Chelsea’s January signings might be registered for the knockout stages with the attacking trio of Enzo Fernandez, Joao Felix and Mykhailo Mudryk making the cut.Fernandez broke the British transfer report while he joined from Benfica for £107 million.
But the Argentine World Cup winner is but to have the favored impact in supplying a creative spark from midfield and became found wanting via Karim Adeyemi’s searing tempo for Dortmund’s winner inside the first leg 3 weeks in the past.
Chelsea spent £10 million simply to have Felix on mortgage for the very last few months of the season, however there will be little left to play for ought to they fail to turn the tie around.
At least Potter has tended to apply Fernandez and Felix while to be had, unlike Mudryk.
Chelsea gazumped Arsenal to signal the Ukrainian from Shakhtar Donetsk for an preliminary 70 million euros (£sixty two million, $seventy four million), rising to one hundred million euros in add-ons.
But Mudryk has no longer commenced within the remaining 3 games and became an unused replacement against Leeds regardless of Potter making all 5 available adjustments.
Chelsea scored a first aim in 4 video games on the weekend, but it got here from a defender in France centre-returned Wesley Fofana, who powered domestic a corner.
“We must attack higher as a group,” stated Potter. “That’s my obligation. It’s too clean to zoom in on individuals and blame them. It’s a collective, we must create extra, do higher, and that starts offevolved with me.
“Helping the crew get better possibilities, more possibilities. I do not doubt the best of the players.”
Despite an injury-disrupted first season at Stamford Bridge, Raheem Sterling remains Chelsea’s joint top scorer this season with six in all competitions.
Sterling has no longer netted on account that January 1, but Potter believes he may want to provide the spark his aspect need in opposition to Dortmund.
The England global scored 24 goals in 67 games for Manchester City in Europe’s most advantageous membership competition prior to his £50 million flow remaining summer.
“His goalscoring record in the Champions League speaks for itself,” introduced Potter.
“He’s a demonstrated campaigner in that opposition. We’re delighted with that, we’re searching ahead to having him at the pitch on Tuesday, with any luck playing his football.”