Graham Potter has given his thoughts on a disappointing day for Chelsea as they drew 0-0 with Liverpool at Arsenal, in a game where they arguably had the better of the chances.
Chelsea’s new €100m (£87.9m) signing Mykhaylo Mudryk came closest to breaking the deadlock, seeing a poor touch at the back post go behind when he should have taken a shot first time.
For the last decade, such a result between the two would often have been viewed as satisfactory but this was a missed opportunity for both and was a poor return for Jurgen Klopp’s on his 1,000th game as a manager.
Both clubs are a shadow of their former selves at the moment and the fact that this was teams in ninth and 10th place trying – and failing – to significantly close the gap on the top four shows how bad things currently are.
Potter, however, remained positive despite his side dropping two important points at Anfield.
Speaking to BT Sport, via BBC sport, he said: “I thought the performance was good. Happy with the team, the energy, what we tried to do. At Anfield, it is always tough. It is a clean sheet and a point, we move forward.
“First half, we were decent, unlucky not to get the goal. It is what it is. They started the second half well, and we adjusted a couple of things and gained control, had a couple of chances. Overall, a positive day, apart from the fact we wanted three points.”
Potter also heaped praise on his new centre-back Benoit Badiashile, who alongside Thiago Silva put in a good performance to help the Blues to a clean sheet.
On : “[Silva is] helping Benoit [Badiashile], it is his second game in the Premier League. To have Thiago alongside him is a big help. He’s an important player, a leader, it is nice that he is enjoying his football.”
It was also Mudryk’s first Premier League appearance today, after being brought on for Lewis Hall in the 55th minute.
As mentioned, he had an excellent chance to break the deadlock late in the game, but a heavy touch saw him squander the opportunity.
Speaking about Mudryk, Potter said: “He’s not played football for a while, he’s been on a mid-season break. We had to manage his minutes, but you can see his quality.”
Indeed, the Ukrainian showed flashes of how important he can be for Chelsea after beating Trent Alexander-Arnold on multiple occassions. Chelsea’s next game is against London rivals Fulham, so that will be a must win for Potter.
READ MORE: Mudryk offers a bit of spark but Liverpool and Chelsea cancel each other out