Chelsea are at rock bottom. Since its elimination in the Champions League by Paris Saint-Germain, the club coached by Liam Rosenior no longer puts one foot in front of the other. If they still have the FA Cup to save their honor (semi-final against Leeds), the Blues will sink in the championship. This evening, they lost heavily 3-0 on the Brighton pitch. A defeat with serious consequences and loaded with symbols. In the standings, Chelsea were overtaken by their evening opponent and could potentially find themselves ten points behind fifth place synonymous with the Champions League, if Liverpool win against Crystal Palace. And that’s not all.
Dark Chelsea
The Londoners have just suffered a fifth consecutive defeat in the Premier League without having scored a single goal. A first since 1912. Obviously, Liam Rosenior was called into question more than ever after this new fiasco. The young English coach recently assured that he had the confidence of his management. But this evening, many are wondering if he will really be able to survive this new disillusionment, despite a contract running until 2032. The evening got off to a bad start for Rosenior anyway. He who advocated sacred union, the former Strasbourg coach saw Marc Cucurella’s barber announce before everyone else the withdrawals of Cole Palmer and JoĂŁo Pedro due to injury. Enough to annoy Rosenior who had already railed against the leaks of his compositions, particularly against PSG.
Asked after the match, Trevoh Chalobah assured that he and his teammates fought until the end despite the score. “We gave everything. But we just weren’t the best team. We had a game plan. We tried to implement it. We did our best. We worked on this game plan all week. We lost today. We have to start from scratch, we can’t dwell on these moments. We can assume our responsibilities. As players, we must take responsibility for our performance. We know how much the fans support us, we know they are disappointed with the results. We don’t win games. We have to stick together and get through this. I think the guys gave it their all. If you look in the locker room, everyone is tired. It has nothing to do with effort. We gave everything. We lost today. We ran today. The statistics are what they are. The guys are tired. »
“I’m in shock, I’m so angry.”
Highly awaited by the media, Rosenior changed his tone. This time, the young 41-year-old coach decided to charge his players. For him, this rout was the worst of all since he became head of the Blues. “And from afar. And from a long way away. This was unacceptable at all levels of the match. I have always defended the players, but this performance tonight was indefensible. The way we conceded the goals, the duels we lost. Something has to change radically, here and now. We must look in the mirror. I have to look at myself in the mirror. But I can’t keep coming here and defending some of the things we’re seeing. Against Manchester United, the result really wasn’t there, but I had the feeling that we had turned a corner. But the general attitude and state of mind were lacking, there was only the determination of three or four of the eleven starters. This is far from enough for this club. I can’t come here and lie. I tell the truth. It was an unacceptable performance on all levels”he said at the microphone of Sky Sportsbefore putting it on again in front of the show’s cameras Match of the Day.
“I have my own ideas, I’m not here to make excuses. What happened was unacceptable to everyone around me, especially me. This must change. It’s a question of responsibility. I defended the players when necessary, but I cannot defend this performance. It does not reflect this club, it does not correspond in any way to what I expect from the group, and that must change. I’m in shock, I’m so angry. I always talk about what I see and this was unacceptable. The goals we conceded were unacceptable and that’s something I have to acknowledge. I’m going to look at the team, I’m going to look at the players individually and I’m going to look for a team that I can trust to get the fundamentals of football down, and we shouldn’t have to talk about the fundamentals of football at this level. This is something we need to fix very quickly. Tonight, it wasn’t a question of tactics. It was a question of will, of spirit, of courage, and I didn’t see enough of that tonight. This is far from enough and we need to improve on this point. » The return to London promises to be hectic.
