Potter names Chelsea player who struggle vs Newcastle United

Chelsea manager Graham Potter in a post-match statement revealed captain Cesar Azpilicueta struggled during their EPL match vs Newcastle United.

Potter revealed he had to replace Azpilicueta with Christian Pulisic in the second half.

And a goal from Joe Willock in the second half was all Newcastle needed to defeat Chelsea at St. James’ Park.

The outcome of the match against the Magpies means Chelsea have now recorded three straight defeats in all competitions for the first time since 2002.

Chelsea are now in the eighth position on the table and would struggle to make it back to the top four.

“Today, again, you see they [key players] are missing. Just had a period that has been incredibly challenging,” Potter said at his post-match press conference.

“You face four of the teams in the best moments in the Premier League in terms of their version of themselves, and that can challenge you as well. As much as we can’t accept it, we have to deal with it and try to move forward.”

He added, “It doesn’t make it any easier. Losing Ruben [Loftus-Cheek] when we did, and the Azpi [Cesar Azpilicueta] was also struggling a little bit, so we had to take him off at half-time.”