Potter discusses Thiago Silva's yellow card and Auba's important goal

As the final whistle blew on Chelsea's 2-1 victory over

,

Graham Potter

said the Blues were "fortunate"

wasn't sent off. On Saturday's Premier League game, Silva was beaten for possession and afterward intentionally touched the ball to prevent Jordan Ayew from getting in on goal.

Palace were upset that the referee only gave the 38-year-old defender a yellow card because they were leading 1-0 thanks to an early goal by

Odsonne Edouard

. The referee admonished Patrick Vieira for not letting the matter go, and Potter conceded that

might have been shorthanded.

"It was a 50-50 one we've come out on the right side of I think,"

he said after the game

. "I think it's one that we've been fortunate with. The fact it's quite a way from the goal has maybe helped us a bit and there are covering defenders. But I can understand Patrick's frustration."

Although he avoided criticising the performance of referee Kavanagh, Vieira made his displeasure with the call plain. 

"It's difficult for me to understand and accept it, so sometimes it's better for me to be really quiet and not talk about it. I don't want to talk about it because I believe the referee got it wrong. If I really say what I think, I will be in trouble."

"It's better for me not to talk about it. I don't understand the decision and don't want to talk about it. There is a referee, there is VAR, and they are making decisions – we move on."

When Silva nodded down a Reece James pass,

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang

pounced on the opportunity to score Chelsea's equalizer just before halftime, further adding to Palace's frustrations. Potter won his first league game in command of Chelsea thanks to a 90th-minute winner by substitute Conor Gallagher, named Palace's Player of the Year during his loan stint there last season.

With last month's comeback victory over

West Ham

, Chelsea has now won back-to-back league games after conceding first for the first time since December 2016. Potter said to BBC Sport, 

"We're delighted with the result. It's a tough place to come. I thought we started quite well but conceded from the first action into the box. Credit to the boys, they recovered well and did not let their heads go down. It was nice to get an equaliser and get back in the game."

"We had to survive moments as they are a good side with dangerous players. To be a goal down and come away with three points is fantastic so credit to the players. There's character, that's for sure. They could've felt sorry for themselves after conceding the goal but the players stood up all the way through. There was a collective spirit among the players. We are delighted with the three points."

After missing his first two attempts against Chelsea in the Champions League, Aubameyang finally struck the back of the net with a brilliant half-volley on the swivel.

This is his seventh goal versus Palace in the Premier League, and he scored on his debut for Arsenal (against Everton in February 2018). 

"It was an important goal,"

Potter said

. "He has been working hard to get himself up to Premier League fitness and I have been really impressed with him. But any forward will tell you it is important for them to score and it was an important goal for us."

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