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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Nathan Ridley

Graham Potter makes Chelsea vow after first match ends in Champions League frustration

Graham Potter vowed that Chelsea "will get better" after a tame start to his Stamford Bridge reign.

The Blues boss began his tenure with a frustrating 1-1 draw with Red Bull Salzburg, having replaced Thomas Tuchel in the dugout less than a week ago after Chelsea began their Champions League campaign with a shock 1-0 loss to Dinamo Zagreb.

Fast forward to Wednesday and Raheem Sterling gave the Blues the lead three minutes into the second half to build on an encouraging first 45 minutes. But a late equaliser from Salzburg substitute Noah Okafor earned a point for the Austrian visitors.

Potter was still pleased with his new team's performance, though, as the English tactician told BT Sport : "We're disappointed with the result. I thought the boys gave everything. We scored a good goal, but lost a bit in the second half but their goalkeeper has made some good saves.

"It is what it is, we have to dust ourselves down. Personality and application was good, we will get better. We got Raheem in one-on-one situations quite often and the goal was a good result of that. It's always irritating when you concede a goal. Overall the defensive performance was quite good, it's just the little details we will have to improve.

"It has not been easy for the boys, they have responded to us really well over the last few days and it's a point we will have to take and get better. The attitude has been fantastic, no complaints apart from the fact we haven't taken three points. We'll get better."

Potter went on to add in his post-match news conference: "We know we have to win and be competitive. We are at the start of a process together as staff and players. I can only comment on the response we had and I am looking forward to working and make this team competitive and one supporters are proud of.

Get involved! Will Chelsea reach the Champions League knockouts? Let us know your prediction in the comments section.

"They are intelligent, top players, working hard for each other. They are disappointed because results haven't gone as well as they'd like and you can feel that. But it's my job to get results that we all want."

Sitting on just one point after two group-stage games, Chelsea will look to boost their chances of qualifying when they face AC Milan back-to-back between Premier League clashes with Crystal Palace and Wolves. That won't be until after the international break, though, and the Blues had been due to welcome Liverpool to Stamford Bridge on Sunday.

The match has been postponed due to strained police forces ahead of Queen Elizabeth II's funeral, giving Potter and his coaching staff more than fortnight to lay their foundations back at Cobham.

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