Graham Potter explains reason for making seven changes to Chelsea starting XI vs Wolves

Chelsea manager Graham Potter talking about the changes he made for the Wolves game and squad depth

Speaking to the media after the game (h/t Football.London), Chelsea manager Graham Potter explained the seven changes he made for the Wolverhampton Wanderers (Wolves) game and expanded on using the squad depth to good effect.

The Blues comfortably won the game 3-0 with goals from Kai Havertz, Christian Pulisic and Armando Broja. They dominated the game despite making several changes from the team that started against AC Milan.

The changes might have been made keeping in mind that Chelsea played the Italian champions less than 72 hours before the kick-off against Wolves, and also because of the return game against Milan at San Siro is 72 hours away.

Here’s Potter on whether making seven changes was a risk (h/t Football.London):

“Thiago has had a heavy cold but played against Milan. With two days to recover, that was short so we didn’t want to take the chance. Three games for Ben Chilwell wouldn’t have been the smartest thing to do. Reece had a dead leg yesterday but we wanted to give him a little bit more time. We were also missing Wesley. Raheem’s load was massive so we thought it would be good for him to have a breather, and it was a similar thing with Auba.”

It is a testament to the depth of resources the manager has that he can start without a few of his key players and still produce a dominant display against a tidy Wolves side.

When asked about trusting the squad, here’s what the manager said (h/t Football.London):

“Credit to the players because they are a good group here. We can’t succeed with just eleven players, can’t keep with them until they fall down and then bring in the next one. As long as the reason is there why we’ve made a decision, then we’ll take it. We can’t do it with eleven players.”

In October, the Blues are scheduled to play nine games in all competitions, followed by four in 12 days in November before the World Cup break kicks in.

So, it was understood even before this run of games started that managers of clubs who have European games to deal with along with the league games, will have to use the majority of their squad to keep the players fresh and also get the right results.

Potter has done brilliantly so far. He would hope that the players who were rested today turn up in a hostile environment at San Siro on Tuesday and deliver a great performance against AC Milan.

More Chelsea News:

• Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang hopes he can put an end to the myth of the No. 9 curse at Chelsea
• Graham Potter hopes Wolves’ Diego Costa receives positive reception on Chelsea return
• Chelsea could make a move for Cristiano Ronaldo either in January or next summer

Chelsea needs to keep this momentum going, which currently reads as three wins out of three since the resumption of football after the international break.