Rosenior defends substituted trio after Chelsea victory

Liam Rosenior defended substituted trio Alejandro Garnacho, Jorrel Hato and Benoit Badiashile after Chelsea’s dramatic 3-2 win against West Ham.

The Blues came back from two down at half-time down to clinch victory, with Enzo Fernandez netting a stoppage-time winner at Stamford Bridge.

They were booed off at the interval, with Garnacho in particular the target of the fans’ frustration after a poor display.

The changes paid off and Chelsea turned the game around with a vastly-improved second-half performance.

But Rosenior said: “The individuals came off and people will look at them. That wasn’t on them. It was a collective poor performance in the first half.

“Those players know with me, I make early changes. It doesn’t mean all of a sudden they’re out of my thoughts.”

All three half-time replacements were involved in the two goals that hauled Chelsea level.

Wesley Fofana crossed for fellow substitute Joao Pedro to head home, and Marc Cucurella, who also came on, netted the equaliser.

And Joao Pedro set up the winner, finding space on the right and picking out Fernandez, who fired home.

It made it five wins in a row – and six in seven matches since Rosenior was installed as head coach.

“The first-half performance was nowhere near the level that it needed to be and should be,” said Rosenior.

“It was a really lethargic performance in the first half but the second half was everything I wanted to see.”