"Whatever you do, there's always a plus and a minus" - Graham Potter opens up on deploying new Chelsea signing in an unfamiliar position 

Chelsea's newly appointed manager, Graham Potter, opened up about deploying Raheem Sterling as a left wing-back in his side's Champions League clash against RB Salzburg last night (September 15). The English forward had to slot into an unfamiliar role, having played as a forward his entire career.

Sterling completed a move to Chelsea earlier this summer from Manchester City. In 339 appearances across competitions for the Cityzens, the winger has recorded 131 goals and 96 assists.

The European fixture against Salzburg resulted in a 1-1 draw for Chelsea. Sterling found the back of the net in the opening minutes of the second half, putting the west London outfit in front. However, Salzburg managed to salvage a point from the encounter when Noah Okafor added his name to the scoresheet in the 75th minute.

While speaking to the media in a post-match interview, Potter was asked about playing Sterling as a wing-back. He replied (via Football.London):

"Well, there is that possibility, but you have to organise around that as you don't want Raheem really defending in his box too often, and I don't think he did. I think Marc Cucurella managed the situation quite well. I can't remember too many opportunities they had down that side."

He added:

"Whatever you do, there's always a plus and a minus, but we were at home, and we wanted to be on the front foot and get some attacking ideas in those positions. Raheem is really good at attacking a backline and scored a fantastic goal. I thought he was really good in the game. Reece balances it off a little bit, and we can still defend in a four if we need to, so that was the thinking."

Graham Potter offers insight on strategy behind Chelsea's European clash against Salzburg

The Chelsea boss has provided an insight into the strategy behind his side's European clash against Salzburg, explaining the Blues' formation for the game in detail.

Potter fielded a starting XI that seemed to be a 4-3-3 formation. However, it was immediately apparent from the get-go that Chelsea were lined up in a back three. Sterling and Reece James were deployed on the flanks as wing-backs.

Following the European encounter against Salzburg, Potter spoke to the media and described the system he played. He said (via Football.London):

"It was a back three as far as I was concerned with Reece and Raheem giving us the width. Salzburg are very strong in the middle with their 4-3-1-2, so it's not easy to play through the middle of the pitch. We wanted to get some dangerous width, and Reece and Raheem were that."

He added:

"They were more full-backs in the lateral positions and then midfield players. I thought we got Raheem into some good situations and Reece as well down that side. Mason, too and we scored a good goal. Then they defended well, blocked, and their goalkeeper made some good saves. We can improve as well, but like I said, how the boys approached the game, I am really, really happy."