Chelsea suffered a crushing 3-0 defeat to Manchester City in the Premier League on Sunday as the Blues’ poor form continued – and Liam Rosenior reflects on the result
Liam Rosenior watched his team lose 3-0 to Manchester City on Sunday (Image: AFP/Getty Images)
Manager Liam Rosenior has admitted that leaving Enzo Fernandes out of the squad against Manchester City “probably” led to Chelsea’s defeat. The Blues lost 3-0 to City at Stamford Bridge on Sunday, meaning they missed out on Champions League qualification.
Fernandes has missed Chelsea’s last two games as part of an internal punishment for comments he made during the international break. The Argentina international has been vocal about his love for Madrid and hinted at the possibility of a move to Spain in the future.
Rosenior said he had decided to remove his captain from the 7-0 FA Cup win over Port Vale and the Premier League game against City because he had “crossed the line”. Fernandes was not absent against the struggling Ligue 1 opponents, but Chelsea crumbled under heavy pressure from City, who came out strong in the second half.
Asked whether the decision to let Fernandes go hurt Chelsea’s chances, Rosenior said: “Maybe so. In hindsight, it’s 20 wins, 20 draws. Enzo is a top player, a top character and I’m looking forward to having him back next week.”
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“Sometimes you don’t make decisions based on the short-term, you make decisions based on what you want to see long-term. And it was a long-term decision that me, the manager and the club made to align with the player leadership group that we made to make sure our long-term values and our culture were in the right place.”
“But Enzo has had the necessary conversations. He has been great in supporting me and the team over the last few days and I can’t wait for him to be back in the team.”
Fernandes will return to action against Manchester United this weekend, but Rosenior will be under pressure to deliver after losing five of his last six games in all competitions. Chelsea were eliminated from the Champions League by Paris Saint-Germain 8-2 on aggregate, making it three consecutive league defeats against Newcastle, Everton and City.
Enzo Fernandes has missed the last two games (Image: Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images)
The Blues remain in sixth place, but are now four points behind fifth-placed Liverpool, with the club just behind them. With six games left, Everton and Brentford are one point behind, while Brighton and Sunderland are two points behind.
“Right now we are still in the race for Champions League qualification,” added Rosenior. “And we still have a chance to win the FA Cup, but we have to win this moment. This is a huge football club. When I first came, I didn’t ask for a lot of time because I understand this club. I understand the tradition and the history of this club.”
“I want to have that time and I’m sure that if we have that time we can create something very special within that time. Even experienced players like Pep and Jurgen Klopp needed a year to sort things out when they won the title with Liverpool.”
“I came in January. That’s not an excuse. It’s reality. We need to win now and that’s what we’re going to focus on. I’m not a manager who hides behind the fact that we might need to do something with other players in the transfer market. We need to change that (results) now. That’s why I’m here.”
“We have to keep working, we have to keep trying to improve. We have to choose the team correctly, considering the balance of attack and play, but at certain moments we also need to be better defensively, and that’s what we’ll focus on.”
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