Chelsea’s hopes of progressing to the Carabao Cup final are hanging by a thread after Liam Rosenior suffered his first defeat as Blues manager on Wednesday night.
Liam Rosenior’s second game in charge of Chelsea and his first at Stamford Bridge saw the new Blues manager thrown in at the deep end, having guided his new side to a 5-1 win over Charlton on Saturday.
Rosenior made another eight changes on Wednesday night, having made eight when fielding his first side against Charlton. Only Josh Acheampong, Andrey Santos and Marc Guiu remained in the starting line-up.
Reece James, Cole Palmer, Malo Gusto and even Jamie Gittens were all missing from the squad as the new Chelsea manager, ultimately, did what he could with what he had left of his newly-inherited Chelsea side.
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Plenty of positives, plenty of negatives…
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While Chelsea did impress in glimpses and often beat an Arsenal press that has taken many prisoners, the dismal performance of Robert Sanchez saw the Gunners secure victory, eventually going on to win 3-2.
Two howlers from Sanchez saw Ben White and Viktor Gyokeres score. Alejandro Garnacho came off the bench to score twice with two excellent finishes, either side of a Martin Zubimendi second-half strike.
Plenty of positives, but too many negatives and that is something that Rosenior must iron out of his side. Below, our The Chelsea Chronicle’s player ratings, in which two Chelsea players get a rating of just 2/10.
Chelsea player ratings v Arsenal as Sanchez gets 2/10
Robert Sanchez – 2/10
Oh dear. Chelsea were largely impressive given the quality of the opponents and yet Rosenior’s men were beaten by Arsenal because of two horrendous errors. One good moment, a late save to deny Merino.
Chelsea v Arsenal - Carabao Cup Semi Final First Leg
Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images
Josh Acheampong – 5/10
Kept things steady on the ball. Ultimately, had little to do with either of Arsenal’s goals. If Chelsea need cover for Malo Gusto then they should look no further, but it does feel like a little confidence is needed.
Trevoh Chalobah – 6/10
Back in the side after a poor outing at Fulham and played with a lot more assurance. Carried the ball forward well on occasion and, like Acheampong and Fofana, could do little about both of Chelsea’s goals.
Wesley Fofana – 6/10
Back in the side, fans will be hoping the Frenchman can finally live up to the price tag under Rosenior after his spell with injuries. Solid, and like Acheampong and Chalobah, was not to blame for the goals.
Marc Cucurella – 2/10
While Chelsea’s other three defenders did very little wrong, Cucurella was bullied by Bukayo Saka. Before the second goal, Cucurella tried to con the ref and left himself out of position. Jorrel Hato will be happy.
Chelsea v Arsenal - Carabao Cup Semi Final First Leg
Photo by David Price/Arsenal FC via Getty Images
Enzo Fernandez – 7/10
Easily Chelsea’s best player in the first half, the orchestrator of anything good Chelsea did. Faded in the second half, as Arsenal put their foot on the gas. Deserves to be playing in a side that are playing better.
Andrey Santos – 5/10
This is a version of Santos that seems to lack any belief, showing an unwillingness to take the game by the scruff of the neck. He did it at Strasbourg under Rosenior. Tonight, he took the easy option every time.
Estevao – 7/10
Stung the palms of former Chelsea keeper Kepa in the first half and looked a threat out wide during the game. But perhaps he should have done more with the limited ammunition he got. Bad offside late on.
Who was Chelsea’s biggest disappointment on the night? 😡
Some terrible performances on such a big night…
Chelsea v Arsenal - Carabao Cup Semi Final First Leg
Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images
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Joao Pedro – 6/10
Used as a bit of a no.10 in the 4-2-3-1 system, or at least the deeper of two strikers alongside Guiu to start. Got involved plenty and battled well but ultimately, had little effect on the game throughout.
Pedro Neto – 7/10
The former Wolves winger is arguably Chelsea’s best, most natural winger and things looked like they might happen when he got on the ball. Got the assist for Garnacho’s goal, a solid all-round display.
Marc Guiu – 5/10
After his excellent display against Charlton, Guiu was handed a second consecutive start over Liam Delap but Guiu struggled to get involved. Worked hard however, a sign Rosenior likes the look of the striker.
Substitutes:
Alejandro Garnacho – 9/10 (replaced Guiu, ’53)
Came on amid criticism following his performance at Charlton and instantly got Chelsea back in the game with a neat finish at the far corner, and then netted a second with a beautiful finish from a corner. Will do him the world of good.
FBL-ENG-LCUP-CHELSEA-ARSENAL
Photo by Ben STANSALL / AFP via Getty Images
Benoit Badiashile – 5/10 (replaced Acheampong, ’53)
Instant yellow when he came on. Nothing really to report.
Jorrel Hato – 5/10 (replaced Fofana, ’75)
Like Badiashile, nothing major to report. Cucurella’s display will give Rosenior a headache ahead of clash against Brentford on Saturday.
Shim Mheuka – N/A (replaced Pedro, ’81)
Tosin Adarabioyo – N/A (replaced Cucurella, ’81)
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