Everything Liam Rosenior said after Chelsea’s Champions League exit
Chelsea suffered a humbling exit from the Champions League, losing 3-0 to Paris St-Germain at Stamford Bridge in the last-16 second leg and 8-2 on aggregate. Here’s a full breakdown of what head coach Liam Rosenior said in his post-match press conference.
Rosenior on Chelsea needing more fight:
“Six minutes in and another mistake that we make, it takes the wind out of our sails. And then I think the second goal he’s hit from 25 yards in the top corner. When you go two goals down so early and five goals down on aggregate, it’s a really, really difficult evening. We wanted to obviously put up more of a fight than what we did. Credit to PSG. Their possession play was really, really top in the game and over the two legs they deserve to go through.”
On ensuring the result doesn’t have a serious impact on the rest of the season:
“That’s my job. How I go about that is how we always go about it. We need to be resilient. We need to make sure we go to Everton with an organisation, with a freshness and intensity in our team, because we want to be in this competition next season. And if we perform how I know we can, we can get there without the individual mistakes that we’re making at the moment.”
On his substitutions and tiredness in his squad:
“I think it’s not just an admission. It’s a reality of where the group are. They’ve played over 100 games in 18 months. They’ve had no break in terms of the international games, the travelling that, say, Joao Pedro, Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo do to South America. It’s not an excuse. This is a by-product of success of the Club World Cup and it’s a great thing that the club achieved at the Club World Cup. But you’re seeing with Reece James, you’re seeing with players, that if I don’t manage their minutes, their likelihood of getting injured is increased very highly. So I want us to make sure we’re in this competition next season as a minimum.
“We’re still fighting for an FA Cup, but I have to make really difficult decisions that at the time probably don’t look great, to be honest. You never want to take off your best players when you’re five goals down in a tie. But I want to make the right decisions for the football club in the long term as well.”
On how he will stay confident in his own methods:
“This is football. I lost my voice shouting. Not at the players after the game, but during the game. This is football and moments can change the flow of things. So, two and a quarter games ago, we were away in Paris, coming off the back of Aston Villa, very good performance — 2-2 in the game, but we don’t take care of the moments, we switch off.
“What I have to do is make sure that we get that back on track, and that comes from not making mistakes or errors. And that’s something that me and my staff have already spoken about. Now, we’ll speak about tomorrow and make sure that we go into the Everton game in a really positive frame of mind.”
On Enzo Fernandez’s future:
“I haven’t seen that. It’s hard for me to speak on speculation after a game. And I need to focus right now on the most important things, which is making sure we get a result against Everton on Saturday.
On a fear of not reaching the Champions League in coming seasons:
“No worries at all. It’s a fantastic competition. It’s a competition that this club deserve to be in and deserve to compete in. And my job, along with the club and the players, is to make sure we’re there every year competing for trophies.”
On what he has learnt from his players:
“No, I’m learning all the time. My job is to assess the group all of the time. What I’m learning is that you have to have players that, in every moment, you can rely on to make correct decisions defensively and not switch up. But also, (PSG) were clinical in both games. Clinical shots from outside the box. That’s the level and we need to make sure we get that.”
On booing and building a relationship with fans:
“I think it’s two-way. This is a fantastic football club where the fans want success instantly and that’s rightfully so for the size of the club. I have to say, I understand because of the aggregate scoreline in the tie, why fans are frustrated.
“They want us to win. So I completely get it and I understood that before I came in. I also want to make them happy and give them the nights they deserve. Not just me, but us as a group, as a team. And that was a really, really difficult one to take because of the manner in which we went out this evening.”
On what he can learn from PSG’s dominance over two legs:
“I think football is about flow and momentum. And if you give the opposition flow and momentum without them having to work so hard, they get more confident. I’ve already watched some of the game back. First six minutes, we’re in a game, we set play, we’re in the half of the pitch and then they score. I know that Mamadou (Sarr) is a great young player. These are things that you have to ride, but you have to learn from. We make a mistake. It’s an individual error. There’s nothing tactical and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia is a top player who scores. Gives them confidence, gives them a cushion. And Bradley Barcola hits one from 25 yards into the top corner. I don’t remember having been a shot either side of that. So we have to learn at the top, top level to be clinical and to make sure we keep the back door shut. We’ve done neither over the two legs and that’s why we’re out of the competition.”
On Mamadou Sarr’s performance:
“He has played in that position for me. Mamadou has been outstanding in games against PSG. And I felt his experience, his feel of the players would help him. And when you’re a player and you make a mistake that early, it can become a really difficult night for you. Bearing in mind Malo Gusto was down to start the game and pulled out. He didn’t pull out, but he’s very ill. We gave him as much time as possible to recover. We missed Reece, who’s out. These are decisions that you want to make and you want to get correct.
And in that moment, Mamadou has made a mistake, which has made it a difficult night because it gave PSG the confidence.”
On Trevoh Chalobah and Reece James injuries:
“I think (Chalobah) was really worried. I’ve just checked with the medical team. We’re obviously scanning and assessing him tomorrow. We are hoping and praying that it’s not as bad as we first feared.
“(News on James?)Not yet. I’m waiting for the full results of his scan and hopefully he’s back sooner rather than later.”
