There were many things to like about Liam Rosenior’s first game in charge. Even, some under-fire Chelsea players looked impressive, albeit against Championship opposition.
Ahead of his first match as Chelsea gaffer, Rosenior made eight changes to the side that lost at Fulham. Only Moises Caicedo, Andrey Santos, and Tosin Adarabioyo remained in Rosenior’s starting line-up.
But despite all the changes, Chelsea got the job done with ease. Jorrel Hato, Tosin and Marc Guiu put the Blues 3-1 up before substitutes Pedro Neto and Enzo Fernandez made sure of the win with late goals.
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There was plenty to like. Hato’s positioning almost as a midfielder, the press and hard work up top from Guiu, and the impressive performances of criticised players like Jamie Gittens and Facundo Buonanotte.
Pat Nevin hammers Chelsea defender Benoit Badiashile
But it wasn’t all plain sailing for some. Alejandro Garnacho was booed throughout by Charlton fans, while Gittens’ search for his second Chelsea goal goes on, having opened his account way back in October.
Benoit Badiashile playing for Chelsea against Benfica in the Champions League.
Photo by Rob Newell – CameraSport via Getty Images
However, if there was criticism for one Chelsea player, it was Benoit Badiashile. The defender got a rating of 5/10 on our player ratings, with an early booking as the defender was caught on his heels again.
Speaking on BBC’s coverage, Pat Nevin said: “You can tell that Benoit Badiashile is a bit nervous and he is giving the ball away often. I do feel sorry for a player who is playing so far out of his comfort zone.”
Much, Much better from Jamie Gittens!
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Chelsea need to bring in a centre-back or two in the summer
Rosenior will not have needed to watch much of Chelsea’s defeat to Fulham, and even Saturday night’s win over Charlton, to know that the problem area in this Chelsea side is currently the middle of defence.
Trevor Chalobah let Raul Jimenez have all the space in the world when he headed Fulham ahead on Wednesday. Tosin is probably the one centre-back in this Chelsea squad that Rosenior can trust.
It says a lot that it was Tosin that remained in Rosenior’s starting XI, just because the former Fulham man is reliable. Chelsea fans have voted for Rosenior to remove Badiashile from the side on our Talking Points.
Chelsea have even been told to re-sign Antonio Rudiger who is out of contract in the summer. But one thing is for sure, and that is that Badiashile is not the long-term future of Chelsea’s or Rosenior’s defence.
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