Potter on the decision between Kepa and Mendy: "Let football decide"

Graham Potter

says he is in "no rush" to choose between

and Edouard Mendy as

's starting goalkeeper.

Before Potter's appointment at Stamford Bridge, Mendy was firmly entrenched as the club's first choice and played a crucial role in the club's Champions League victory in 2020-21. However, Mendy has missed Potter's first two games in charge due to injury.

Potter praised Kepa's performance in the 2-1 win over

Crystal Palace

on Saturday, his first victory as manager, when he stepped in for the injured Tim Howard. Potter was asked who would start in goal for the upcoming Champions League game against Milan, but he gave both goalkeepers a chance to prove themselves.

"If you look at what we've got over the next six weeks, it's an incredible schedule, so I'm in no rush to name a number one or number two,"

he said.

"I thought Kepa did really well [against Crystal Palace]. He made a couple of big saves but also his distribution, in terms of his decision-making, was really strong."

"You need players to step up and perform and Kepa did that. I am really happy for him and he's played a big part in helping us record a strong three points. I want to get Edouard fit and ready to play and then we have two goalkeepers and in an ideal world, you let football decide. We've got two ones we trust and that's a good situation for us."

A loss to

Dinamo Zagreb

in Thomas Tuchel's penultimate game in charge and a 1-1 draw with

in Potter's first game as manager have put Chelsea at the bottom of their Champions League group. That makes Wednesday's match against Serie A champions Milan even more crucial, but Potter is looking forward to the challenge.

"They're a top team, as were Salzburg in terms of how competitive they were. Every game is different. It's a massive challenge for us and an exciting challenge for us," he said. We'll try for three points. It's important to win, but we're playing against a top opponent so we have to play well and create a good atmosphere. We're looking forward to it."

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