While Liam Rosenior has come under plenty of criticism for Chelsea’s tactics on Tuesday night, there were plenty of positives from the 1-0 Carabao Cup semi-final second-leg defeat to Arsenal.
Paul Merson, Gabby Agbonlahor, and plenty of other pundits have questioned Rosenior’s tactics, which were to nullify Arsenal until Rosenior could bring on the likes of Cole Palmer and Alejandro Garnacho.
Rosenior wanted his Chelsea side to stay in the game for as long as possible, keeping Arsenal at bay, and then build on the tension at The Emirates with a second-half equaliser, having lost the first leg 3-2.
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But there were positives. Chelsea’s ability to stop Arsenal for much of the match until, as Rosenior put it, they threw the kitchen sink at Arsenal, was impressive. A big part of that was Wesley Fofana’s display.
Liam Rosenior thinks Wesley Fofana is improving consistently
Of Fofana’s 56 appearances for Chelsea since his move to Stamford Bridge in 2022, 22 have come this season. That highlights the extent to which the Frenchman has endured injury while in West London.
Chelsea v Brentford - Premier League
Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images
But at his best, many believe Fofana is Chelsea’s best defender and even though Rosenior changed to a back three on Tuesday night, the former Leicester man was excellent. Rosenior praised him on YouTube.
“You can see it in his performances, he’s getting stronger and stronger,” Rosenior said. “A lot of positive signs in terms of the players, their fitness, their application, we just need to make sure we get a result.”
Liam Rosenior also gave an update on two Chelsea players
Before the game, Reece James and Pedro Neto both pulled out of the side having picked up knocks against West Ham. It was a surprise, with Rosenior confirming that the duo failed a late fitness test.
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Wesley Fofana's number of aerial duels in Arsenal vs Chelsea
Photo by James Gill – Danehouse/Getty Images
In the same interview as his praise of Fofana, Rosenior said that Neto and James will be fine for Wolves: “Reece and Pedro should be absolutely fine at the weekend, which should be a big boost for us.”
Rosenior made four changes for the clash against Arsenal, his least amount of changes between games. But the chances are, come Saturday, that Rosenior will make more to continue his rotation policy.
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