Potter gives verdict on Chelsea's draw at Brentford
Chelsea boss Graham Potter was denied a statement victory over Manchester United on Saturday evening as Casemiro popped up with a late header to cancel out Jorginho's penalty. After taking a point from a game that the Blues should, on paper, have won, Express Sport takes you through the hosts' four worst players on the night...
Chelsea struggled for cutting edge throughout the game but, of the three starting attackers, Mount is the one that should shoulder most of the blame. As perhaps the key link between midfield and the forward trio, of which he played on the right-hand side, he struggled to make things work and bring others into the game.
Although doing so in such a big game is a tall order, Blues fans would have hoped for more from their Player of the Year for the past two campaigns running.
Graham Potter's Chelsea had to settle for a point against Man Utd on Saturday (Image: GETTY)
Jorginho
From the off it was obvious that the Italian and Ruben Loftus-Cheek, as a duo, would be unable to compete with United’s midfield three. Christian Eriksen, Casemiro and Bruno Fernandes ran rings around the hosts in the opening stages as Potter was forced to take action.
Jorginho’s lack of mobility and physicality saw Chelsea overrun in midfield and Mateo Kovacic was thrown into the mix well before half time with the Red Devils in control. Despite his second-half penalty that looked to have given the home side victory, it wasn't a positive night for the Italian international.
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Strikers that rely heavily on service simply have to make their chances count. Aubameyang wasn’t heavily involved in the game and Potter may not have expected him to be, while Chelsea’s lack of attacking vigour saw him feeding off scraps.
But two good chances came his way that could have changed the tie completely. David De Gea was sent scrambling in the first half when Aubameyang poked an effort wide of the post, before he fluffed his lines after latching onto a dangerous cross that saw United defenders looking for a flag that never came.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang struggled to impose himself against Man Utd (Image: GETTY)
Marc Cucurella
It is always humiliating to be substituted in the first half and, on this occasion, Cucurella was chosen to be the sacrificial lamb. Chelsea’s back three detracted from their numbers in midfield which saw Potter introduce Kovacic at the Spaniard’s expense.
Being taken off well before the final whistle is becoming a common theme in Cucurella’s fledgling Chelsea career and, on Saturday, he wasn’t deemed effective enough going forward or backward to stay in amongst the action.