After Chelsea lost 5-2 to Paris Saint-Germain in the first leg of the Champions League Round of 16, manager Liam Rosenior made comments that angered Chelsea fans. He seemed to be defending the result, which fans did not like at all.
At a press conference after the game, Rosenior implied that PSG’s individual skill was a reason for the big loss at the Parc des Princes. After the game, the Chelsea manager talked about how good the opponents were, calling PSG an exceptional team of European champions.
“In the Premier League, there is no Doué, no Ousmane Dembélé, no Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, no Vitinha or João Neves. It’s an exceptional team. Exceptional European champions.”
The Blues fans reacted angrily. Fans said the comments were just excuses from a manager who should be asking more from a team that includes Cole Palmer and Enzo Fernández. The reaction was especially strong because the Premier League is the richest league in the world and can get the best players. Fans called Rosenior “worse than Potter,” called him a “coward,” with some insisting that he should be sacked at the end of the season.
People are growing increasingly angry with the former Strasbourg boss, who took over from Enzo Maresca on January 6. Chelsea are in fifth place right now, with 48 points from 29 Premier League games. The inconsistent results under Rosenior have made calls for a change in the dugout even louder before things get worse.
How Chelsea Collapsed Against PSG in Their Champions League Last-16 First Leg
Chelsea had come to Paris to attack, not to sit back. They pushed a lot of bodies forward and pressed with a high line. In the 10th minute, Bradley Barcola scored the first goal, but Malo Gusto tied the game in the 28th minute. Dembélé then put PSG back in the lead with an amazing solo effort. He picked up a pass near the halfway line, sped past Fofana, and then shot across Filip Jörgensen.
Enzo Fernández scored again for Chelsea in the 57th minute, and the Blues looked to be in charge of the game. But Filip Jörgensen made a mistake that gave the ball away in the area. It then went to Vitinha, who lobbed it over the stranded keeper to make it 3-2.
After that, substitute Khvicha Kvaratskhelia took over and scored twice in the 86th and 90+3rd minutes to make it a 5–2 win. Chelsea need to come back from a three-goal deficit at Stamford Bridge on March 17, but they need to focus on their Premier League game against Newcastle United this Saturday first.