Graham Potter has praised new Chelsea signing Benoit Badiashile for his ability in possession during the derby victory over Crystal Palace.
Speaking after his side secured a narrow and much needed 1-0 victory at Stamford Bridge, Potter pinpointed the defender’s passing as a strong point of his performance.
Badiashile was awarded his debut by the manager against Palace, following his £35m move from Monaco earlier in the month.
It was a bold decision to start the 21-year-old in such a crucial fixture for the club.
Chelsea entered the clash with Patrick Vieira’s team stuck in the middle of the Premier League table, thanks to a string of rotten results.
They started the day 13 points behind the Champions League places, and just three ahead of their capital city rivals.
But the Blues managed to take all three points thanks to the head of Kai Havertz.
Benoit Badiashile was brilliant for Chelsea
Whilst scoring is still an issue for Potter’s men, at least they proved that keeping them out is manageable.
Just their sixth clean sheet of the campaign was owed in part to Badiashile, who battled the Palace players with real heart and confidence.
Not only did he defend, but the France international was also composed on the ball.
“I thought Benoit did well, really well. It was a good game for him,” remarked Potter on the centre-back’s first start.
“Kalidou Koulibaly has had a lot of football and the turnaround from Thursday was a consideration.
“He (Benoit) passes the ball well, when he needed to head the ball out, he did. He has to adapt to the Premier League, it will take him some time, but it was very positive”
Badiashile has now certainly given the coach food for thought heading into the next round of fixtures.
He replaced the senior figure of Koulibaly, and based on the evidence from earlier, the man from Napoli might struggle to get back into the XI.