Liam Rosenior can take some positives away from Chelsea’s loss to Arsenal on Wednesday night.
Arsenal managed to beat their London rivals 3-2 in the first leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final tie.
Mikel Arteta’s men managed to take advantage of some poor goalkeeping from Robert Sanchez, but an Alejandro Garnacho brace has kept Chelsea alive.
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
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Rosenior has defended Sanchez and been positive about Chelsea’s performance in general.
Pedro Neto of Chelsea on the ball
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Liam Rosenior on ‘outstanding’ Pedro Neto
Rosenior was particularly impressed with Garnacho, Estevao Willian and Pedro Neto.
In fact, he has claimed that the last of that trio was “one of the best players” on the Stamford Bridge pitch on the night.
Speaking in his post-match press conference, which has been shared by football.london, the new Chelsea manager said: “Estevao had some magical moments. Pedro Neto was outstanding, one of the best players on the pitch and I could bring on Garna fresh.”
Estevao Willian was unreal against Arsenal 🔥
Chelsea fans, where can he still improve?
Estevao Willian's stats vs Arsenal
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For as good as Neto was, though, there is no doubt that Garnacho and Estevao were the stars of the show.
Again, it was Garnacho who got Chelsea back into the game and kept their dreams of reaching Wembley alive with his two goals.
Estevao picked up a needless yellow card for dissent, but other than that, the Brazilian did little wrong. Rosenior will be pleased to have wingers who have as much quality as Garnacho, Estevao and Neto.
Liam Rosenior, Manager of Chelsea, acknowledges the fans
Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images
Pedro Neto puts in creative display against Arsenal
Neto was unable to score, but he did register one assist. In total, the Portuguese created one big chance and registered three key passes, according to Sofascore. It had to be one of his best performances in a Chelsea shirt.
Neto and Chelsea need to attack as they did on Wednesday night this weekend when they face Brentford.
The Blues really need a win against their west London rivals after falling out of the top four.
The likes of Neto, Garnacho and Estevao can help them achieve that. The big worry for Chelsea coming from the Arsenal game is probably how the team defended. That and Sanchez’s goalkeeping would have concerned supporters.
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