Chelsea, however, were up against it from the opening minutes, with forward Raheem Sterling forced off after suffering an apparent hamstring injury, replaced by Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

Potter was also without a string of senior players including Mason Mount, Reece James, Ben Chilwell and N’Golo Kante.

The game at Stamford Bridge was scrappy in the initial stages, with the visitors dominating possession but creating little of note.

Chelsea were first to threaten, in the 16th minute, but City defender John Stones came to the rescue as Christian Pulisic bore down on goal, producing a perfectly timed sliding tackle to deny the US forward.

The American was injured in the challenge and was forced off minutes later, compounding Chelsea’s problems.

Teenager Carney Chukwuemeka, who came on for Pulisic, almost made an instant impact, but his shot was blocked and Hakim Ziyech’s effort was saved by City goalkeeper Ederson.

Erling Haaland, who has one more Premier League goal this season — 21, than the entire Chelsea side, smashed a shot wide in the 38th minute.

But Chelsea continued to look the more dangerous side and came agonisingly close to breaking the deadlock when Chukwuemeka hit the post in the 44th minute.