<<Print>>

Chelsea manager Graham Potter was desolate after his side's defeat to Fulham on Thursday, labelling Joao Felix's red card "another hit" to his squad.

Potter included the Portugal man in his starting line-up, but Felix lasted less than an hour before he was shown a straight red card for a high tackle on Cottagers full-back Kenny Tete. The pressure continues to pile up on the Chelsea manager, who appeared visibly exhausted after yet another league defeat, with Felix's red card in particular a hammer blow given his contributions before that point.

"It was a forwards tackle, there was no malice in it but I understand why it was a red," Potter said on the challenge after the match. "It is another blow, the hits keep coming at the moment. He was really good, you could see his quality in the game, so it is doubly disappointing for us.

"I think we controlled the game early, won the ball back high, created some opportunities and maybe missed the last pass. We made a couple of mistakes for their goal. Second-half I think we responded well and then the red card changes the game... We've got to keep working, there are no other solutions."