Chelsea manager Graham Potter backs Kai Havertz ahead of crunch Dortmund clash: ‘It’s too easy to blame him’

Graham Potter is refusing to blame for Kai Havertz for his six-game goal drought at Chelsea.

The 23-year-old has scored just five goals this season despite playing more minutes than any other forward, and he has only found the net twice since the World Cup.

Havertz missed a great chance in Saturday’s 1-0 win over Leeds when he was one-on-one with Ilan Meslier.

But Potter, whose side have scored just twice in seven games, has explained why he does not think Havertz should take all the blame for his lack of threat.

Potter said: “I think we have to attack better as a team and that’s my responsibility. It’s too easy to zoom into individuals and blame them.

“It’s a collective, we have to create more, do better and that starts with me, helping the team get better chances more chances because then I don’t doubt the quality of the players.”

Chelsea now face Borussia Dortmund at home in the Champions League on Tuesday, having lost 1-0 in the first leg in Germany.

With Raheem Sterling now back in the team, there is hope that Chelsea can lean on his European knowhow as they bid to win back-to-back games for the first time since October.

Potter said: “His goal scoring record in the Champions League speaks for itself. He’s an experienced, proven campaigner in that competition.

“So we’re delighted with that and we’re looking forward to him on the pitch on Tuesday, and hopefully enjoying his football and, and contributing to us winning and going through.

“You can see his quality that he brings and if he’s enjoying his football he’s a really important player for us and the last two home games, you could see that.

“He’s still building up because the hamstring problem he had, he’s getting stronger and stronger with every minute so that was the thinking behind bringing him off to make sure he’s ready for Tuesday.”

Chelsea’s switch to back-three helped them look more solid and mask the absence of the injured Thiago Silva.

Potter is ready to stick with his latest system after some promising signs of progress.

He said: “I thought we had a nice balance about us. We were better in terms of attacking certainly of the first half. And that’s something for us to improve.”