Liam Rosenior’s hopes of becoming the second English manager to win his first five Premier League games were flattened by Leeds United on Tuesday night, as Chelsea surrendered a 2-0 lead.
Only Craig Shakespeare had managed the feat as an English manager in the Premier League before Tuesday night. Rosenior needed a win to match the former Leicester City manager’s record, but he failed.
Indeed, it was hardly Rosenior’s doing. Chelsea would go 2-0 up, with Cole Palmer laying on Joao Pedro to score his sixth goal under Rosenior, before Pedro won a penalty and Palmer scored again for Chelsea.
Chelsea fans – was Rosenior to blame, or was it the players? 😤
Chelsea failed to hold on to a 2-0 lead over Leeds.
However, out of nowhere, Leeds won a penalty, and Lukas Nmecha scored after Moises Caicedo fouled Jayden Bogle. Then, a defensive mix-up allowed Noah Okafor to tap home and draw Leeds level.
Lukas Nmecha shares what he noticed about Chelsea
It is the first result of Rosenior’s reign that was genuinely disappointing. Seven wins out of 10, the two losses to Arsenal were also disappointing, but they were expected to beat Leeds at Stamford Bridge.
Lukas Nmecha v Chelsea
Photo by Andrew Kearns – CameraSport via Getty Images
Paul Merson and Chris Sutton predicted Chelsea would win. Since 2002, Chelsea hadn’t lost on a Tuesday at Stamford Bridge. Yet, Nmecha’s Leeds came from behind to draw 2-2, and he gave his take on Chelsea.
The Germany international believes Chelsea were easy to get at because of their age: “They’re really good in midfield, overloading us and finding pockets. We tried to press them but they found good solutions.
“We tried to choke them out and it worked. A point here is very respectable. They’re very talented, but they’re still a young group. We tried to use the momentum and just smother them,” he told TNT Sports.
What is Chelsea’s biggest weakness? 😟
BlueCo's transfer strategy continues to hamper Chelsea.
Chelsea’s pursuit of the top four now looks a whole lot harder
Hull is next up in the FA Cup, before Chelsea face 19th-placed Burnley and Rosenior will be expected to guide his Chelsea side to two wins. But after that, Chelsea’s fixture list becomes incredibly difficult.
The Blues’ next six games after hosting Burnley include Arsenal, Man United, Man City and Newcastle. Rosenior needed to beat Leeds and Burnley and sit in fourth by the time these fixtures come along.
But for now, Chelsea remain a point behind fourth-placed Man United, who secured a late draw at West Ham. Rosenior needs to learn from the mistakes he and his Chelsea side made, and quickly indeed.
Join Our Newsletter
Receive a digest of our best Chelsea content each week direct to your mailbox