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Chelsea ace Ruben Loftus-Cheek has encouraged his teammates to step up to the plate in the upcoming Champions League Round of 16 second-leg clash against Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday (March 7) night. The Englishman believes the Blues have what it takes to overturn the disappointing first-leg (1-0 loss) result.
Graham Potter’s side are weathering a poor run of form across competitions. Chelsea have only won three of their last 17 games across competitions, failing to play the brand of fans associate with the club. Potter’s team are in 10th place in the Premier League and have been knocked out of both domestic cup competitions: Carabao Cup and FA Cup.
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The Champions League is their only hope of escaping a trophyless season. To progress to the next round, they will have to overturn a 1-0 defeat they endured in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 clash against Borussia Dortmund. With the return leg set to take place at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday, Loftus-Cheek has urged his teammates to put on a show and move to the next round.
At a press conference, the England international said (via Evening Standard):
“We have a big game coming up against Dortmund here this week, and we expect to rise to that challenge. Anything can happen in the Champions League, and we definitely think we can win on Tuesday.”
Chelsea coach Graham Potter defends Kai Havertz amid goalless run
Chelsea ace Kai Havertz has been firing blanks for the Pensioners lately. The German international has only scored one goal in 2023, with that strike coming in a narrow 1-0 win over Crystal Palace in the Premier League on January 15.
Havertz has understandably come under fire for his lackluster form in front of goal. Graham Potter, though, does not think that the German should be the only one to take the blame.
Taking responsibility for Havertz’s lack of goals, Potter said (via Football.London):
"I think we have to attack better as a team, and that’s my responsibility. It’s too easy to zoom into individuals and blame them. It’s a collective; we have to create more, do better, and that starts with me, helping the team get better chances more chances because then I don’t doubt the quality of the players.”
Havertz has played 32 games for Chelsea across competitions this season, scoring only six times.
