Liam Rosenior has defended his tactics during Chelsea’s Carabao Cup semi-final second leg loss to Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday night.
Chelsea were beaten 1-0 at the Emirates Stadium by Arsenal on Tuesday night as the Gunners secured a 4-2 aggregate victory. With the game heading to a boring goalless draw, Kai Havertz broke the heart of his former employee by scoring the decisive goal.
Rosenoir started the game with Cole Palmer and Estevao on the bench, with Liam Delay forced to play wide rather in his preferred number nine role.
The duo(Palmer and Estevan) were brought on in the 60th minute, with Rosenior withdrawing Jorrel Hato and Liam Delap as he reshaped his side.
However, they were unable to influence the game.
Following the game, Rosenoir was called out by former Arsenal midfielder Paul Merson for Chelsea’s set-up and performance.
Rosenior was asked about Merson’s comments during his post-match press conference.
Chelsea players react after the Carabao Cup Semi Final Second Leg match against Arsenal. (Photo by Vince Mignott/MB Media/Getty Images)
In response, the Chelsea manager admitted: “I’ve been a pundit. It’s easy. It’s easy in hindsight.
“So, if I go and attack the game, press really high and we concede two goals early, everyone says, ‘what’s he doing?’ That’s the reality of my job.
“The reality of my job is if you lose games, you’ll be criticised. If you win, you’re a genius. It’s normally somewhere in between, I think.”
Since succeeding Enzo Maresca last month, Rosenior has won six of his eight matches in charge at Stamford Bridge.
He has lost two games and those match were against Arsenal in the Carabao Cup semifinal.
With the Blues now out of the Carabao Cup, Chelsea’s hopes of silverware this season now rest on the FA Cup and Champions League.
The Blues visit Hull City in the fourth round of the FA Cup later this month, and would be favoured to win the game. Rosenior’s side will return to Champions League action in March following their sixth place finish in the league phase.
