Chelsea manager Graham Potter continued his unbeaten run as his team took three points away from Villa Park against Steven Gerrard's struggling Aston Villa in a 2-0 victory.
Both goals came from England international Mason Mount and Potter highlighted his performance, alongside that of goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga as integral to the win.
Mount at the Double
Commenting on the performance of Mount, who started in a front three alongside Kai Havertz and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, with Potter saying "Mason in the end, made the difference." Continuing by heaping praise on the midfielder, who picked up his first goals of the season.
"He works so hard for the team always. He’s got the quality, got the ability to score and assist. Sometimes players go through little dips if the team isn’t functioning that well and maybe the team didn’t function as well as it maybe can and as a result individuals don’t play to the level but the effort has always been there from my perspective and once he can get in the spaces we want to get into he has got the quality to execute and you saw that today."
Safe Hands
Another star performer was the perceived to be second-choice goalkeeper Kepa, who has endured highs and lows during his time at Stamford Bridge, but with his fourth consecutive clean sheet, he is now keeping Edouard Mendy sitting on the bench based on form.
A slew of saves from the Spaniard kept Chelsea with a flattering scoreline on what was a difficult afternoon, reflecting on this, Potter said, "I thought we started off ok but lost our way a little bit in the second half of the first half. We needed Kepa at that point and he made some fantastic saves."
Acknowledging that Kepa has had problems since his arrival in English football, his manager was keen to heap praise on the keeper in his post-match press conference.
"He is contributing to us with clean sheets and how we’re trying to play and the environment around the place. I’ve got to say all three goalkeepers we’ve had here have been really, really good in that regard – supporting each other, providing good competition and that picks everybody’s level up and Kepa has found a fantastic level today. Made some brilliant saves that have kept us in the game and allowed us to win the points so really pleased for him."
Reece's Rush
Offering an update on the situation of Reece James who picked up a knee injury against AC Milan, Potter said his right-back "will be in a brace for four weeks." James is therefore in a race against time to be in contention for next month's World Cup 2022, though Potter said he was unable to predict if his player will be on the England squad's plane to Qatar.
"In terms of his involvement in the World Cup, I don’t know. It will depend on how he recovers. He will give everything. I’m sure he will. But he is in a brace for four weeks and that slows everything down."
James himself is remaining optimistic about his chances and though his manager recognised his disappointment, he emphasised that the player himself will "fight' to be at his first World Cup, saying:
"He’s naturally disappointed. Naturally upset because he’s injured for us. He misses games for us when he was in a fantastic moment. His performance at Milan was incredible in both games so he’s got himself into a real good moment of form and as you can imagine he’s really disappointed to be injured but he’ll give everything. He’ll fight. Try his best to get back as quickly as he can and when he is he will be a top, top player."
Chelsea and England fans will be hoping he makes a speedy recovery and makes it to Qatar!