Recently-appointed Chelsea manager Graham Potter oversaw his first victory as Blues boss since leaving Brighton to take over from Thomas Tuchel last month as his side came from behind to win 2-1 at Crystal Palace.
With postponements and an international break, the Englishman was yet to take charge of his new club in Premier League action with his first match being a 1-1 draw at home to RB Salzburg in the Champions League.
However, after going behind early to an Odsonne Edouard strike, goals from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and former Palace loanee Conor Gallagher secured a much-needed three points for Chelsea.
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Numerous American media outlets covered the match over the weekend. Here is a round-up of what they had to say.
Tom Hamilton, via ESPN
"Potter has Gallagher to thank for this victory. This was an evenly matched game, and up to that point where Gallagher found himself on the edge of the Palace box as the match ticked into the 90th minute, it looked destined for a 1-1 draw. Having had a lengthy time between matches, you can see some of the Potter imprint on Chelsea as they look to dominate possession and force openings through incisive balls over the top, or to players running off the final shoulder.
"But defensively, Chelsea struggled. You can imagine the attack will take some time to finetune due to both the new manager and personnel taking time to gel, but it's the defence which needs to be fixed first up. Crystal Palace's goal was wonderfully crafted -- Jordan Ayew's brilliant cross split Chelsea's defence and it was sheer determination that saw Edouard able to get his studs on the ball to divert it past Kepa. But the fact he managed to find the space in between Silva and Reece James would have troubled Potter, as would their profligacy in defence as Palace's pressing saw them surrender possession far too often.
"You feel Ben Chilwell is still trying to re-find his best form when there were times where the relationship between defence and midfield broke down. Up front, Raheem Sterling was dangerous off the flanks while Kai Havertz used his physicality well to win key headers, and Aubameyang took his chance well, but there were few chances and it required Gallagher's wonder strike to swing this match in Chelsea's favour. The win will be a relief for Potter -- and they were fortunate to keep Silva on the pitch -- but he has work to do ahead of AC Milan on Wednesday."
Andy Edwards and Nicholas Mendola, via NBC
"Chelsea’s race was nearly run in the 33rd minute, when Thiago Silva was caught napping and lost the ball in acres of space. As Ayew darted past the Brazilian, who was now lying flat on his stomach, Silva stuck out his left hand and slapped the ball away to prevent the counter-attack (and likely scoring chance). Referee Chris Kavanagh showed Silva a yellow card, deeming that either (or a combination of) the distance from goal (roughly 35 yards out) and at least one recovering defender meant there wasn’t an obvious goal-scoring opportunity to be denied.
"Five minutes later, Silva headed the ball down for Aubameyang to rifle it home. From nearly a goal and a man down, to level on both, in 300 seconds.
"When Kai Havertz came off in the 76th minute, rather than inserting Pulisic (or any other attacking player for that matter) into the game, Potter instead brought on an extra central midfielder in Gallagher. Potter always thinks outside the box, though — seamlessly shifting team shape more narrow or wider, higher or deeper, extra man in midfield or out wide — always willing to make the first move in the tactical chess match, to play the game on his terms.
"So, let’s not read too much into Pulisic sitting on the bench (for 84 minutes), but it’s clear he’ll have to make a whole lot out of very little to impress Potter and regain a regular place in the team. Right on cue, it was Pulisic who made the zig-zagging run past two defenders to set up Gallagher for the winner. No small contribution for a player currently out in the cold."
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