Kalidou Koulibaly was greatly annoyed by Chelsea’s new underperformance, who lost 1-0 to Newcastle in the Premier League on Saturday. The Senegalese international assures that the Blues are “out of place” and that the fault lies with the players.
Chelsea lost again this Saturday, against Newcastle (1-0), and the Blues central defender Kalidou Koulibaly didn’t like it at all. The Senegalese international has been very frustrated with the position occupied by Chelsea, who are only eighth in the Premier League, and feels he bears the main responsibility, along with his team-mates.
« It hurts, we came here to get three points, he said into the Canal+ microphone. We knew they were in a good moment, that they are putting on some intensity and that especially at home they have their fans behind them. So we knew it was going to be very difficult for us. »
« Unfortunately we have many injuries and we who were present today are not in a good moment, he adds, while Loftus-Cheek and Azpilicueta had to abandon the match with injuries. The break comes at the right time for us, we need to recharge our batteries, think about something else and come back after the World Championship with a different mentality.«
And he concludes: Today Chelsea are not in their place and we are the only ones to blame. So we have to look each other in the eye and keep working to put Chelsea in their place. »
“Chelsea are not in their place. We are the only ones to blame!”
Kalidou Koulibaly’s strong words after the Blues defeat against Newcastle 🗣️#NEWCHE | #Premier League pic.twitter.com/W2yeniITNV
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His manager Graham Potter felt that “fatigue and injuries had an impact” on the outcome of today’s fixture and is counting on the international break to put things in the right direction: ” We have to recharge our batteries and start again for the second half of the season. »
« I think we made too many unintentional mistakes to maintain good quality and pressure, argues the England coach. Again, it’s a credit to Newcastle, they are playing well and having a great time. You can probably see the difference between the one game a week schedules and the busy time we had. »
He, who has a third consecutive defeat for the first time since 2002, is not necessarily worried about this situation: “ It’s not nice to not get results. It’s that simple, but I have to consider the reasons and the situation we had to face. It wasn’t easy at all. »
« We have played many games, some injuries to important players, which destabilized us, and even today we can see that they are missing. It was an incredibly difficult time. You are up against four of the teams who are in the Premier League’s best moment in terms of version of themselves and who can take on you too. Even if we can’t accept it, we have to face it and try to move forward. »
