“It will be a special night”- Graham Potter sends message before Chelsea vs Borussia Dortmund clash

Chelsea boss Graham Potter “really looking forward” to the Dortmund game

Speaking to the media, Chelsea boss Graham Potter is looking forward to facing Borussia Dortmund in the second leg of the last-16 Champions League tie at Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea lost the first leg by a goal in Germany, hence they have to score at least one goal to stay in the tie and take it to extra-time.

The Blues restored some confidence with a scrappy 1-0 win over Leeds United on Saturday. While the performance was not perfect, a win would boost the morale ahead of such a big game.

Potter sounded excited about it. Here’s what he said (h/t Football.London):

“It’s a big game, an exciting game, a chance to go through to the last eight of the Champions League. It will be a special night at Stamford Bridge, so we’re really looking forward to that. All our thoughts are on being positive, winning the game, and going through. In terms of what we learned from the previous game [against Dortmund] they are a top opponent.

“You can see from their results in the Bundesliga, they are in a fantastic vein of form, winning games constantly. That tells you as a team they are doing a lot well. Attack and defend, good individuals, well coached. So it’s a big challenge for us but we’re excited for it.”

It won’t be easy against a Dortmund side that has won the last 10 games in all competitions. They are now joint leaders of the Bundesliga with Bayern Munich, only separated by goal difference.

Irrespective of that, we must note that Chelsea created chances there and should have come back to London with at least a draw. But, that is where their problems lie – goal scoring.

With no Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (not in the Champions League squad), who will take the mantle of scoring the key goals required to go through to the next round? Can we rely on Raheem Sterling, Joao Felix and Kai Havertz to do that job? There are not many options left anyway.

This is a knockout game and form does go out of the window. Stamford Bridge will be rocking for a tense European night. It is up to the players and the manager to deliver their best performance in 2023.

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The second leg can go long in the night as well with the prospect of extra-time and/or penalties. Expect a tight game with very little margin for error.