For Cole, the most encouraging aspect of the performance in Italy was the character shown by the players. Chelsea found themselves trailing 2-1 at half-time against an Antonio Conte side but Rosenior’s men rallied in the second half, showing a resilience that has often been missing from the Blues' makeup in recent years.
"Liam is still getting his style of play in but the character was really impressive," Cole observed. "A Chelsea team who went behind could have got rolled over a few months ago so he’s instilled something in them."
Cole noted that while this version of Napoli, decimated by injuries and languishing in the table, isn't the force that won the Scudetto recently, beating a Conte team on their own patch remains a significant litmus test. "This isn’t the Napoli team that was blitzing everyone in Serie A but it’s still an Antonio Conte team," he added, emphasizing the tactical battle Rosenior had to win.
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