Graham Potter faces defining moment in Chelsea story against Dortmund

I t is not Graham Potter’s style to make the story about himself. Asked whether knocking Borussia Dortmund out of the Champions League would change the story of his Chelsea career, Potter remained as measured as ever. “I’m not really thinking in that way,” Chelsea’s head coach said. “I’’m just thinking about how important it is for the team and the club. It’s a chance to get to the last eight. We’re playing against a top opponent in a really good vein of form. It’s a huge challenge.”

But not an insurmountable one. “What an opportunity,” Potter continued, briefly dropping his guard, briefly letting in some emotion. There was a line about making sure that Stamford Bridge is rocking, and hidden beneath the calm exterior was a sense that this is a defining moment for Potter; a chance for him to win over the fans and prove he belongs at Chelsea.

The mood was lighter. João Félix talked about Chelsea, who trail 1-0 after missing several chances during the first leg, being under “zero pressure”. Potter, whose job security has been under threat, sounded more relaxed after his side earned a nervy 1-0 win over Leeds on Saturday. Admittedly, their season would be all but over if they lose to Dortmund but beating Leeds was an important step. It punctured the negativity and, although the performance was far from perfect, it has set Potter up to show why he retains the support of Chelsea’s owners, Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital.

“Your mood is a bit better when you win,” Potter said. “But the good thing and bad thing about the job is there is another game pretty quickly. As much as you can celebrate the win against Leeds it’s pretty quickly on to Dortmund.”

The good news is that Chelsea had Christian Pulisic, N’Golo Kanté and Reece