standard.co.uk

'Had to take him off': Rosenior explains brutal Gittens substitution

Ruthless: Liam Rosenior

Chelsea Football Newsletter

Liam Rosenior has given his thoughts on Jamie Gittens’s performance against Napoli and explained why he substituted the substitute.

Gittens came on for Andrey Santos with an hour played, but was then taken off himself in the 90th minute, replaced by centre-back Benoit Badiashile.

Speaking at full-time, Rosenior explained why he made this change and gave his views on Gittens’s performance at the Stadio Armando Maradona.

“I thought Jamie Gittens came on and made a huge difference,” the Chelsea head coach said.

“I had to take him off at the end. Big [Romelu] Lukaku was on. I needed an extra defender on the pitch in that moment.”

Chelsea’s victory ensured they avoided the play-off round and progressed straight to the last 16 by finishing sixth in the table.

Read More

Liverpool vs Qarabag LIVE: Latest score and updates from Champions League

Haaland ends goal drought as Man City seal Champions League progress

Three things we learned from Spurs win as next step beckons for Simons

Rediscover your adventurous side on an exotic getaway

“The character of the players, the resilience, the reaction to going behind, was so positive,” Rosenior said.

“The distances were too big in the first half so we corrected it at half-time and made personnel changes. Joao Pedro, a magnificent performance from him.

“I really wanted to be front-footed today and to try to win the game.”

Read full news in source page