Chelsea 'way forward' urged to be 'nastier' as competition for 'over the hill' starting point

Former Chelsea midfielder Joe Cole believes playing Kai Havertz as a central striker is the 'way forward' for Graham Potter, with summer signing Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang an option on the bench.

Havertz opened the scoring as Chelsea ended a five-match winless streak by beating Bournemouth 2-0 in their first World Cup return leg.

The Germany international, who was flanked by Christian Pulisic and Raheem Sterling, also put Mason Mount in Chelsea's best attacking performance under Potter in the Premier League.

And Cole said after the game he was convinced Havertz was the better option, but urged the 23-year-old to be "meaner".

Cole told Amazon Prime: "[Havertz] He's a good guy. We want him to be meaner. He was great tonight, goal and assist.< /p>

"[Potter] He left with Havertz and I think that's the way to go for Chelsea. Good goal for Chelsea."

Former Premier League boss Tony Pulis, who joined Cole as an adviser, agreed, adding that Aubameyang was no longer good enough to be the main man at Chelsea.

"I think when you're in the top four clubs in the Premier League you need depth, and they bought that as cover more than anything," he added.

>

"He's gone from so good to falling over the hill. I'm sure he'll add something over the course of the season, but he's not the main man anymore."

Havertz said after the match that Potter had given him "a lot of confidence" and was enjoying the "freedom" the Chelsea manager had given him.

He told Prime Video: "The win and the goals will hopefully give us some confidence. It's an important win, but we know we have to keep winning now.

"This period is crucial for us. We need points and we will give our best in the next games to come."

"He [Potter] gives me the freedom to do what I feel comfortable on the court and I like that.

"I like to play freely and have the ball very often, to be in the box and just play. He gives me a lot of confidence.”

READ MORE: Mason Mount is the vaccine against Graham Potter's mutated 'disease' at Chelsea

Potter was also pleased with the performance and the result.

He told Prime Video: "I thought we played good attacking football at times, created decent chances against a team that was doing well, picked up points.

"They also came back in the second half, but overall I think we deserved the win."