Marc Cucurella's man-of-the-match display delights Graham Potter

Graham Potter praised Marc Cucurella after the decision to restore him to Chelsea's defence was vindicated by a brilliant individual display in their 2-0 win over Borussia Dortmund.

The Blues reversed a 1-0 deficit from the first leg in Germany to seal a stunning Champions League fightback and hand Potter his finest night as manager at Stamford Bridge.

Cucurella had been left out of the manager's last three matchday squads but was brought in to start in a back three with Thiago Silva and Benoit Badiashile unavailable.

Goals either side of half-time from Raheem Sterling and a retaken penalty from Kai Havertz won it for the Blues, after they had bombarded the Bundesliga’s second-place side during a first half in which they dominated and could have been out of sight.

It was a performance that finally demonstrated the potential in the team following owner Todd Boehly’s whirlwind January transfer spend, with Joao Felix imperious in driving down the left side of Chelsea’s attack and British-record signing Enzo Fernandez in near-total control in midfield.

But it was Cucurella, whose inclusion after a difficult personal spell Potter admitted had been a risk, who rose best to the occasion with an energetic, focussed display of high pressing.

"I think Marc was man of the match," said Potter, with UEFA in agreement as the Spaniard took the official award.

"If the result hadn’t had gone our way, I’m not sure of the consequences. I’m delighted for him.

"When you’re having a bad time like we’ve had, you accept the criticism and Marc has dealt with it well. We’ve tried to shield him a little bit and at the same time pick the moment (to bring him back).

"We thought the crowd would get behind us tonight, because it’s the Champions League. With