Potter admits Chelsea have 'long way to go' if they are to finish in top four following 'below-par' Forest performance

• Potter offer stark assessment of Chelsea's performance
• Dropped two points against Nottingham Forest
• Goal came from obscure deflection

WHAT HAPPENED? Chelsea dropped more points in the race for the top four as they could only muster a 1-1 draw with Nottingham Forest to start 2023. With Manchester United and Liverpool both picking up maximum points since the restart, it was important for the Blues to try and keep pace, but a below-par performance has them slipping behind.

WHAT THEY SAID: Potter was damming of his sides performance at the City Ground, telling BBC Match of the Day: "It was overall below par for us. You have to credit Forest, they did what they did well. We didn't do well enough when we had control. It's always tough because you have a lot of big teams with lots of top players and coaches. We need to focus on the next match but clearly we have a long way to go."

THE BIGGER PICTURE: Having been unbeaten in his first nine games in charge, Potter has now picked up just one win in seven. A 2-0 victory against Bournemouth on Boxing Day on the return of the Premier League proved to be a slight smokescreen as they registered just one shot in the second half against Forest.

IN TWO PHOTOS:

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WHAT NEXT FOR CHELSEA? The Blues now face Manchester City twice in quick succession. They host them in the Premier League on January 5 before travelling to the Etihad Stadium on January 8 for an FA Cup clash.