After a very bright start under Liam Rosenior, Chelsea have really dipped in recent weeks.
Following their 2-1 loss to Arsenal last weekend, the Blues have now failed to win any of their last three Premier League games.
Before their defeat at the Emirates, Chelsea threw away leads against Burnley and Leeds United. Even so, Rosenior is remaining very optimistic about his team’s future.
Liam Rosenior has claimed that Pedro Neto was a threat before his red card 🤔
Pedro Neto's stats vs Arsenal
Photo by Charlotte Wilson/Offside/Offside via Getty Images
Liam Rosenior thinks Chelsea have proven that they can become an ‘elite’ team
Rosenior’s optimism is based on what Chelsea showed under him before their recent poor run of form in the Premier League.
According to the 41-year-old, the Conference League holders have shown during his short time at Stamford Bridge that they have the potential to develop into an “elite” outfit one day.
Speaking in his latest pre-match press conference, which has been shared by Chelsea’s official club website, Rosenior said: “This [run of form] is a massive learning experience for my group — and I do not want it to be an experience where we fail in what we want to achieve.
“But these setbacks we’re having, we have to learn from them because if we do, we have proven, even in my short time here, that we can be an elite team for a long time.”
Rosenior also spoke about Chelsea’s ill-discipline, sending a warning to Enzo Fernandez. Unlike nine of his teammates this season, Fernandez has not actually been sent off, but the midfielder has been cautioned on more than one occasion for dissent.
Liam Rosenior head coach of Chelsea applauds among his players after the Premier League match between Arsenal and Chelsea
Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images
Chelsea haven’t proven anything yet under Liam Rosenior
Again, Chelsea did have a good start under Rosenior, but they did not show anything to suggest that they are going to become a world-class team in the future.
Yes, Rosenior’s side went on a run of four consecutive wins in the Premier League, but their opponents were nothing special if you are being brutally honest. They beat Brentford, Crystal Palace, West Ham United and Wolverhampton Wanderers before undoing all of that hard work by drawing to Leeds and Burnley at home — there is nothing elite about that.
Since Rosenior took over Chelsea, Arsenal are the only real elite side that the Blues have played, and they lost all three games against them.
Who deserves the blame for Liam Rosenior’s first Premier League defeat?
Rosenior? Pedro Neto? Robert Sanchez?
Arsenal 2-1 Chelsea
Photo by James Gill – Danehouse/Getty Images
Chelsea did beat Napoli 3-2 in the Champions League, but Antonio Conte’s team had a lot of injuries. It was a depleted side that they took on.
Chelsea showed massive potential in the Club World Cup final after beating Paris Saint-Germain 3-0. But that was under Enzo Maresca, who got his tactics spot on that day, and had help from two high-quality moments from one individual: Cole Palmer. Since then, Chelsea have really regressed and failed their real big test against Arsenal, so it is almost impossible to agree with Rosenior.
Join Our Newsletter
Receive a digest of our best Chelsea content each week direct to your mailbox