Chelsea star 'didn't look happy' with Potter, Thierry Henry claims
Karan Tejwani
- 16 Sep 2022 06:15 CDT
- 3 min read
Graham Potter took charge of his first match at Chelsea this past week against Red Bull Salzburg, in what was also his Champions League debut, but he didn’t get the desired result.
The Blues drew 1-1 at Stamford Bridge, despite going up a goal thanks to Raheem Sterling, but later conceded an equalizer as Noah Okafor scored for the Austrian outfit.
Potter made some big decisions, starting with Sterling at wing-back, and also had some interesting team selections as he kicked off his Chelsea career.
He did later take Sterling off, much to the bemusement of some fans as they were surprised by the call, given that he had scored earlier in the game and was generally a threat.
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Even Thierry Henry was surprised by the call, and he believed Sterling himself wasn’t happy about Potter’s decision, with the pair needing a conversation the following day in training.
Speaking on CBS Sports’ coverage of the match, Henry said: "First and foremost, I don't know why [Potter] took Sterling off because he scored and he can maybe score another goal.
"But it will be interesting to see how he deals with that tomorrow morning because he didn't look happy,” the former Arsenal striker added.
Raheem Sterling with 5 G/A in 7 games is sensational.. He's here for business! pic.twitter.com/mBOWxz2aO2
— Williams ©️ (@CFCNewsReport) September 15, 2022
“Maybe we're going too much into it but when [the cameras] showed him on the bench...I wouldn't have liked to come [off] after a goal so let's see how he's going to deal with that one."
Sterling has had a fine start to life at Chelsea, averaging a goal every other game having scored four goals in eight appearances across all competitions.
While Potter’s decision to play him at wing-back was a surprise, it was widely praised despite the fact that Sterling was signed to be one of Chelsea’s forward options, having lost Timo Werner and Romelu Lukaku in the summer.
