POTTER MENTIONS CHELSEA STAR WHO STRUGGLED IN A 1-0 LOSS TO NEWCASTLE

Graham Potter

The captain of Chelsea, Cesar Azpilicueta, reportedly struggled during his team's 1-0 Premier League loss to Newcastle United on Saturday night, according to manager Graham Potter.

Christian Pulisic had to take Azpilicueta's place in the second half, according to Potter

Chelsea has now lost three games in a row across all competitions for the first time since 2002 thanks to the outcome against the Magpies.

In the Premier League standings going into the 2022 FIFA World Cup break, Potter's team is currently in seventh place.

Newcastle defeated Chelsea at St. James' Park thanks to a goal from Joe Willock in the second half.

"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."