Graham Potter says his Chelsea players have put in a “fantastic effort” to move into the last 16 of the Champions League with a game to spare after bouncing back from their opening game defeat.
Two stunning finishes from Mateo Kovacic and Kai Havertz ended Red Bull Salzburg’s 40-match unbeaten home run and saw the Blues join Premier League rivals Manchester City in the knockout stages.
Dinamo Zagreb’s 4-0 home defeat by AC Milan in the latter game on Tuesday means Chelsea cannot top Group E.
The Blues opened their European campaign with a 1–0 defeat to Zagreb in Croatia on 6 September, with club boss Thomas Tuchel sacked the following day.
They have since responded with three wins and a draw under Potter.
“They’ve picked up points in the Premier League and to go to us like in the Champions League is a fantastic effort from everyone,” Potter said.
“We’ll take steps, unfortunately it’s not going to be a straight road. But we’ll take steps and tonight I think was one.”
‘My Parents Came To See Me Score’
Chelsea are unbeaten in nine games under Potter, without the services of France midfielder N’Golo Kante, France defender Wesley Fofana, England defender Reece James and Senegalese defender Kalidou Koulibaly through injury.
“We’ve had a bit of disruption in terms of a lot of games and missing some key players, but credit to the guys who have responded really well,” Potter added.
In a breathtaking game in Austria, Chelsea produced their best performance under Potter.
A commanding first-half display saw them take the lead when Austrian-born midfielder Kovacic rifled in an unstoppable left-foot finish from 18 yards.
“It was nice to score in the country I was born in. My parents were here and my friends were here,” Kovacic, who later withdrew with a calf problem, told BT Sport.
However, the Blues were left frustrated by keeper Philipp Cohen who produced four brilliant saves to keep out Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang alone.
Salzburg equalized through Junior Adamo before Jorginho’s header was brilliantly cleared off the line by Adamo.
Huertz ensured Chelsea went ahead with a superb curling finish, before Thiago Silva was forced to finish off the line from Strahinja Pavlovic.
Chelsea have 10 points from five games in Group E, three ahead of second-placed AC Milan with a game in hand. Saalborg have six points and Dinamo Zagreb four points.
After topping their group, the Potters’ side will be seeded for the last 16 draw on November 7.
