“We need to do better”- Graham Potter sends message to his players as head coach delivers Chelsea verdict after Aston Villa defeat

Graham Potter has delivered his verdict after Chelsea suffered a disappointing 2-0 loss against Aston Villa on Saturday.

Chelsea’s four game unbeaten run in all competitions came to an end as they took on Unai Emery’s Villa side at Stamford Bridge.

The first half was played at a quick pace, the hosts were largely in control of possession but the visitors looked dangerous on the counter-attack. In the 18th minute the Blues were punished, a poor header from Marc Cucurella sent Ollie Watkins in behind, the striker made it seven goals in just nine games in the Premier League as he calmly dinked Kepa Arrizabalaga.

Following this, Potter’s team responded well, creating good goalscoring opportunities, however they were unable to tie up the game. Mykhailo Mudryk and Kai Havertz had big chances, and Ben Chilwell had a goal ruled after he was judged to have pushed Ashley Young over to win the header.

As the players headed off the field, they were met by boos from the home crowd, it had been an underwhelming display.

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In the second 45, the west London side came out looking the stronger of the two teams, but in the 55th minute, things took a turn for the worse. John McGinn fired in a superb long-range effort to extend the lead and add to Chelsea’s woes.

The Blues had a mountain to climb from this position and they failed miserably. Joao Felix and N’Golo Kante had opportunities but they could not find the back of the net.

Chelsea have now dropped into the bottom half of the league table, and with just ten games to go, any chance of European football next year is looking more and more unlikely.

READ MORE: Chelsea 0-2 Aston Villa: Watkins & McGinn goals seal disappointing defeat for Blues

Following the contest, Potter gave his verdict on the defeat, the head coach said: “Both boxes we were second best. The first goal is disappointing, we need to do better there. There’s a lot of good things in the game, attacking play, shots. Look at the stats, it’s a positive performance.”

The 47-year-old is clearly referring to the Blues’ 27 shots on goal in this contest, but unfortunately that does not earn Chelsea any rewards.

Potter went on to say: “What I’ll say is the boys gave everything in the game. They absolutely did. They tried. Ultimately, you need to defend better than we did. I’m responsible for that.

“The most important stat is the 2-0 defeat. We have to accept it and do better.”

Next up for Chelsea they take on Liverpool on Tuesday night and then they have a clash against Wolves next weekend, with the Champions League Quarter-Finals just around the corner, the Blues need to pick up some positive results if they hope to get anything against Real Madrid.