The west Londoners began the new year by dropping two points (Picture: Getty)
Graham Potter says Chelsea ‘did not deserve’ to take all three points from Sunday’s 1-1 draw away to Nottingham Forest, while he offered no update on the looming arrival of Benoit Badiashile.
The Blues took the lead in rather bizarre circumstances, with a clearance from Willy Boly looping high up into the air and bouncing off the crossbar into the path of Raheem Sterling, who fired home from close range.
But a physical Forest side caused the west Londoners problems throughout and they deservedly equalised mid-way through the second half when the ball ricocheted to Serge Aurier from a corner and he did brilliantly to volley past Kepa Arrizabalaga.
The result leaves Chelsea seven points adrift of the top four and Potter admits his side were not good enough on the day to beat Forest.
Speaking to Sky Sports after the game, the Chelsea boss said: ‘A hard-earned point, against a team that are set up well. They put us under pressure second half.
‘Our performance level wasn’t good enough to take the three points. We didn’t move the ball fast enough, we didn’t have enough movement. Pierre [Emerick Aubameyang] had a good chance but it would’ve been unfair to take the three points.
‘When the game became a bit more out of control we suffered with the duels and struggled to deal with that aspect. It’s a tough game, Forest played a good game but we’re disappointed with our performance over the 90 minutes.’
Aurier cancelled out Sterling’s early opener (Picture: Getty)
On Chelsea’s top-four hopes, he continued: ‘For us it’s about the next game and how we improve. We’ve got a long way to go in terms of how we want the team to look and the performance level.
‘So for us I think it would be a mistake to worry about what can happen in five months’ time. I think we need to prepare for the next match and get our performance level better and more consistent. That’s the process and that’s what we need to do.’
Earlier on Sunday, reports emerged that Chelsea had finally agreed a £34million fee with Monaco for defender Badiashile, with the Frenchman flying to London to undergo a medical on Monday, but Potter refused to speak about the speculation.
Asked about reports that Badiashile has a medical scheduled for Monday, Potter said: ‘Until somebody has told me that anybody has been signed it would be unfair of me to comment. I’ve been focusing on the team. I have no updates. Sorry.’
On whether the window is a distraction, he added at his press conference: ‘It’s a part of the season that we all have to deal with, so it’s not like I’m complaining about it.
‘But obviously they’re human beings, every one is, and while the window is open there’s noise, there’s 24-hour media that has to be filled with something.
‘The January window gives people the opportunity to speak about things and it’s normal, but that’s part of modern day football that we have to just deal with.’
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The west Londoners began the new year by dropping two points.
