Portuguese footballer Joao Felix suffered a nightmarish debut for the Blues following his loan transfer from Atlético Madrid, with the player sent to the Fulham derby.
How was everything?
Joao Felix looked bright after being included in Potter’s starting XI at Craven Cottage, but was shown a straight red card in the 58th minute after a reckless challenge on Kenny Tete. The Blues slipped into a 2-1 defeat after being cut to 10 men, with a moment of frenzy from Joao putting more pressure on the Chelsea manager.
What will happen after this?
As the 23-year-old was sacked by referee David Coat for a dangerous tackle, he will now have to serve a three-match ban. If a player collects two yellow cards in a game, they will sit one match, two will be missed following any red card for dissent, while violent behavior results in a three-game absence.
Having played less than an hour of competitive football for the Blues, Joao will now be removed from Potter’s plans for the upcoming premier league matches against the Eagles, the Reds and Cottagers again. Joao Felix will return to action for another London derby away to West Ham on 11 February.
The Portuguese red card will cost the Blues more than minutes on the pitch as – agreeing to pay a £9m ($11m) loan fee and cover Portugal’s entire salary in a short-term deal in England – Chelsea is reported to have cut £2.1m, while while their new addition to the winter window caters for the untimely suspension.
The Blues’ head coach found himself in a state of disrepair after losing to the Cottagers on Thursday, calling the 23-year-old Portuguese’s red card another hit in his squad.
What did Potter say about Joao Felix?
The Chelsea manager included Joao Felix in his starting lineup, but the player lasted less than an hour before being shown a straight red card for a high tackle on Fulham’s fullback Tete. The pressure continues to fall on Graham Potter, who seemed visibly exhausted after yet another league defeat, with Joao Felix’s red card, hammering in particular, given his contribution up to this point.
The boss of the blues on call after the match said that it was a forward tackle, there was no malice in it, but he understands why it was red. According to Graham Potter, this is another hit, the hits keep coming at the moment. The English coach says that Joao Felix was really good, they could see his quality in the game, so it’s doubly disappointing for them.
Potter thinks they controlled the game early, played the ball high, created some opportunities and maybe missed the last pass. Second half, Graham thinks they reacted well and then the red card changes the game. According to him, they must continue to work, there are no other solutions.
A little about the topic
Tuesday’s loss was the Blues’ third consecutive loss and their sixth in their last eight matches in all competitions. Remaining on the side of tenth and ten points behind fourth-placed the Red Devils, who have the game in hand, Graham will now be without the Portuguese for three games due to a debut suspension. Joao Felix joins midfielder Denis Zakaria on the Blues’ absentee list after the Swiss defensive midfielder broke in just minutes before the gloomy Portuguese took the tally of 11 first-team players unavailable for selection.