Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has opted to step in to offer Chelsea some pointers on how to handle Graham Potter’s tenure at the club.
The former Brighton manager succeeded Thomas Tuchel as Chelsea’s head coach in September, after the German was sacked following a slow start to the season, despite a fabulous showing in the previous campaign.
47-year-old Potter had done well to earn an impressive reputation as an up and coming coach with a knack for developing young players during his time at Brighton, and the hope was that that his tactical nous and understanding of the game can help usher Chelsea into a new era under new American co-owner Todd Boehly.
Potter’s tactics have now worked out according to expectations and have already been criticised by some – primarily his decisions to play Raheem Sterling and Christian Pulisic as attacking wing-backs – but Guardiola has moved to defend his managerial counterpart by offering Chelsea some advice, ahead of the pair’s clash in the Carabao Cup.
“If Chelsea accept my humble advice, give him time and he will do well,” Guardiola said. “They got good results but the way they play, when I saw the game against Brighton that they lost, I saw many things I remember from his period in Brighton. But he needs time, everybody needs time.
“No one has success from day one or two, I have a lot of admiration for his work.
“What he did at Brighton was beyond exceptional and I’m pretty sure with time he will do a good job, I don’t have any doubts.
“He is one of the best managers from my point of view, we have in this league.”
There’s expected to be widespread changes made to both sides for their meeting at the Etihad Stadium, with a number of senior players hoping to maintain their fitness ahead of the World Cup in Qatar.