Chelsea

Chelsea

Premier League • England

Graham Potter reaction: Another massive England headache emerges after Chelsea hit back to beat Dinamo Zagreb

Graham Potter, Chelsea v Dinamo Zagreb

Chelsea boss Graham Potter confirmed that Ben Chilwell suffered a hamstring injury in the Champions League win over Dinamo Zagreb that makes the left-back a massive doubt for the World Cup.

Denis Zakaria scored on his Blues debut as Potter’s men came from behind to round off their successful Champions League Group E campaign with victory against Dinamo at Stamford Bridge.

The hosts had already wrapped up top spot with a game to spare but were looking to respond after they were stunned 4-1 in the Premier League by Potter’s old club Brighton on Saturday.

They made the worst possible start as they fell behind in the sixth minute when Bruno Petkovic was able to head in from close range.

Chelsea initially struggled to create much in response. However, a well-worked move brought them their equaliser as Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang backheeled the ball to Raheem Sterling inside the box and the England winger kept his cool to slide the ball home.

On-loan Juventus midfielder Zakaria then marked a dream debut as he drove in a low shot midway through the first half that squeezed over the line.

And speaking about Chilwell after the game, Potter told BT Sport: “It doesn’t look positive. It’s a hamstring. We will have to scan it and see how it is.”

On goalkeeper Kepa, who was also seen on crutches, Potter added: “No he won’t be OK for Sunday. It’s only precautionary [to have the crutches] to keep the weight off his foot. He’s progressing well but won’t be available for Sunday.”

Potter praises character of Chelsea players

As for the come-from-behind win, the Chelsea boss added: “Really pleased. Not the ideal start for us but the character was good and overall we played quite well. We attacked well, had some good chances and finished it off in a positive way.

“Whenever we have played Raheem Sterling we try to get him as high as we can. He has only ever needed to defend against the full-backs so it was a slight change in terms of the back four behind him but not too much change.

“The worry would be if you are not creating chances. Tonight we had a few we could have scored obviously. But our intent was good, our play was good and there is always ways to improve but the quality was there.

“We got the win, a performance and the boys gave everything. We’re a work in progress but with our Champions League campaign we can be happy. We dust ourselves down for a big game on the weekend.”

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