Aubameyang ‘miles off’ and Potter ‘must wish Chelsea had five of James’ after debut

Chelsea fans were left with more questions than answers following Graham Potter’s managerial debut.

The former Brighton boss replaced Thomas Tuchel following the Blues’ 1-0 defeat at Dinamo Zagreb but could not inspire a revival.

Despite dominating possession and taking the lead through Raheem Sterling, a rare Thiago Silva error led to a Noah Okafor equaliser in the 75th minute as the Austrians snatched a 1-1 draw.

Ex-Blues defender Scott Minto saw signs of promise from Potter, who utilised an unusual, fluid formation with a bold team selection.

However, Minto remains unconvinced by his former side – and singled out summer signing Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang for criticism after an anonymous display.

“It’s a big disappointment,” Minto told talkSPORT. “You knew, the way they weren’t controlling the game in midfield.

“At 1-0, you control the pace of the game, and Chelsea weren’t doing that.

“Having said that, the goal itself… we’ve waxed lyrical about him, but Thiago Silva. What are you doing diving in?

“He doesn’t normally dive in. I don’t know if it’s a tiredness thing.

“He dives in when he didn’t need to. Cesar Azpilicueta wasn’t tight enough, either.

“If it was a boxing match, I’d give it to Chelsea on points, but they didn’t do enough to really deserve the win.

“They dominated but Potted would give that a six out of ten. There is a lot of work to do, both defensively and going forward.

“He swapped half the team with his substitutions. Some worked, some didn’t. You can make it a little bit scrappy when you take half the team off.

“I liked what he was doing with the system. It was difficult to read before the game but it suited individual players.

“Chelsea’s big problem has been scoring goals and Aubameyang looked a mile off it tonight.”

While there are questions over a number of Blues players, right-back Reece James delivered another exceptional performance.

And Minto suggested Potter must wish he could deploy the England star all over the pitch.

“Potter must wish there were five of Reece James,” Minto added. “He is just superb.

“He is Chelsea’s best player at the moment.”