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The Blues fell at home as their hopes for a top-four finish suffered yet another setback.
Former Aston Villa manager Tim Sherwood has slammed Chelsea boss Graham Potter following a 2-0 defeat at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.
Villa claimed the victory – with goals from Ollie Watkins and John McGinn - and consequently put the Blues’ quest to finish in the top four in further jeopardy.
Sherwood singled out Potter’s tactics as one of the main reasons why Chelsea fell at home.
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06:07 - 02.04.2023
Graham potter says stats were 'positive' despite Aston Villa defeat
Chelsea manager Graham Potter finds positives in Aston Villa defeat
The Blues boss went with a three-man defense, with Reece James playing on the right side and Ruben Loftus-Cheek operating further forward.
"I cannot understand why Reece James is not playing as a right wing-back," said Sherwood, as quoted by Metro.
"You’ve got [Benoit] Badiashile on the bench, why’s he not playing because it makes it more solid, they look a threat on the counter, Aston Villa."
To Sherwood, Potter’s tactics neutralized Chelsea’s attacking threat.
"For me, he has to be there, you’ve taken away a lot of what James gives you, which is an offensive threat," he added.
"You look at Loftus-Cheek on the right side, if that’s Reece James, he would be as high as [Ben] Chilwell is on the other side, it’d have given them a double-pronged attack down the left and right side."
Following the win, Villa entered the race for Europe as they moved within two points of sixth.
On the other hand, this was Chelsea’s 10th defeat in the Premier League, and the loss left them 11 points behind fourth-placed Tottenham Hotspur.
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12:00 - 01.04.2023
TRANSFERS Has Potter’s comment opened the way back for Lukaku to Chelsea?
The Blues manager gave a positive response on the star, who has struggled with injuries at Inter Milan.
Spurs could also be overtaken by both Newcastle United and Brighton if they win their games in hand.
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