Liam Rosenior speaks at press conference after Chelsea’s loss to Everton (Image: Beenie Man Sports)
Chelsea’s frightening run of form continued, with Everton being handed a fourth consecutive defeat in all competitions, but Liam Rosenior took responsibility and said the blame lies with him. In the Premier League rout at the Hill Dickinson Stadium, the Toffees defeated the Blues 3-0 with Beto’s brace and Iliman Ndiay’s top corner goal. With this defeat, Chelsea wasted a valuable chance to overtake fifth-placed Liverpool, who lost to Brighton on the same day. A draw would have been enough to put them ahead of the Reds on goal difference.
Instead, the Londoners’ miserable losing streak continued with another heavy defeat. The nightmarish 10 days began with a 5-2 defeat against PSG in France. They then lost 1-0 at home to Newcastle in the Premier League, and in the second leg against PSG they ended 3-0 against the French giants, suffering a humiliating defeat of 8-2 on aggregate. The loss to Everton means Chelsea have conceded 12 goals in their last four games, scoring just two. This is the second time since the 1990s that they have lost four in a row.
Everton’s away end was virtually empty by the time the final whistle blew, and Rosenior said after the game: “It’s a disappointing time for the club at the moment, considering the way we lost in the Champions League and the way we lost the last two games. It hurts as a job. It hurts to lose in a football match, regardless of your position.”
“Moving forward and having this time means looking at the bigger picture. We are one point away from the Champions League places. We need to keep working in this way. We have to keep giving the players as much confidence as possible and I hope this suspension of play is a really good moment for us.”
“It was the most disappointing night we’ve ever talked about. It was about not conceding goals, making sure we were in the game and controlling the game. We weren’t able to do that, and the result and performance were far from what we expected and wanted, making it a really, really difficult night.”
Rosenior accepted responsibility for Chelsea’s weak defense. He added: “The first goal looks very similar to the goal[against Newcastle]but when you look back at the goal, it wasn’t tactical. We weren’t man-for-man today. We played 4-4-2. I thought our shape was very good, actually. We controlled their possession. They didn’t expect it.”
“In the end they kicked the ball back to us again and again and we took control of the game and it was a moment, a switch-off moment. I always want to protect my players and I always will. I take responsibility for the lack of concentration but it is what it is. It happened so many times during my time recently that I couldn’t tell the truth.
“For me, I don’t think there’s a lack of effort. I don’t think there’s a lack of belief or determination in the team. In fact, today I felt like Enzo worked until the last moment. So I know that when we’re losing a lot, when we keep performing like we’ve been doing, those things get judged the same way. But I don’t think that’s the issue at the moment.”
Chelsea have lost their last four games in a row. (Image: Getty)
Everton have run further than Chelsea, who have been outclassed in every Premier League game so far this season. The Blues manager added: “I think throughout the season, when you look at the statistics in front of you, they were very similar. I think the last thing you want to do is feel like you’re making excuses because you weren’t good enough.”
“We didn’t get enough results last week. If you’re a logical person and you look at the workload of the players and the number of games they played, I think you’ll come to a very simple conclusion. Why I think the international break has come at a good time for us is because hopefully those players can get a change.”
“Most of them have to travel all over the world and play for their country. But maybe a reset, some time away, getting together and coming back with a different environment could refresh the group.”
Chelsea have not scored in over 300 minutes since Enzo Fernandes scored in the 57th minute to score a 2-2 win away at PSG. Rosenior continued, “I think if you come out there and keep creating those moments, you can get them.
“Statistically speaking, if you look back at each game, it’s not a lack of shots, it’s not a lack of final third entries. That’s something we need to be more clinical about, that’s something we need to work on.”
Chelsea face a very difficult series of fixtures between now and the end of the season, with Manchester City next visiting Stamford Bridge and Manchester United just six days later. They are also looking forward to the decisive battle against Liverpool at Anfield in mid-May.
