Liam Rosenior suffered his first defeat as Chelsea manager on Wednesday night as Arsenal defeated their London rivals 3-2 in the first leg of the Carabao Cup semifinal match.
Two Robert Sanchez errors saw Chelsea fall two goals behind before Alejandro Garnacho came off the bench and got the Blues back within one.
Arsenal extended their lead when Martin Zubimendi found the back of the net, and after Sanchez made a top save to prevent the Gunners from adding more goals.
Then, Garnacho scored again to get the score-line back within one heading into the second leg at the Emirates Stadium.
Liam Rosenior communicates to his players during the Carabao Cup Semi Final First Leg match between Chelsea and Arsenal. (Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)
Speaking after the match, Rosenior gave updates on players availability ahead of a busy run of fixtures.
On Cole Palmer, Rosenior told Sky Sports: “The game came too early for him. Hopefully, he’ll be available to train on Friday. And hopefully, he’ll be ready for us to play on Saturday.
“He had a little minor strain in his leg. If you play a player too early in January with a minor strain, it can turn into six weeks. I cannot afford to lose Cole Palmer for six weeks.”
He added on Reece James and Jamie Gittens: “Reece had a big knock on his hip. It was too sore for him today. Hopefully, he’ll be back on Saturday.
“Considering those two are out, Jamie Gittins was ill last night – he was set to play today but was ill four hours before the game, he couldn’t play – Moises Caicedo was suspended, Malo Gusto was out, there’s a lot of positive aspects.”
Chelsea will face Brentford in the Premier League this weekend then Pafos in the Champions League, Crystal Palace in the Premier League, Napoli in the Champions League and then West Ham in the Premier League.
