Liam Rosenior reflected on a 3-0 defeat for Chelsea against Manchester City.
The Blues had the better of the first half hour at Stamford Bridge, scoring an offside goal through Marc Cucurella and calling Gianluigi Donnarumma into action, with their closest chance coming through Pedro Neto.
But once Nico O’Reilly broke the deadlock in the second half, goals from Marc Guehi and Jeremy Doku soon followed. Once more, Rosenior’s men lacked the resilience to respond to adversity.
Enzo Fernandez Set to Return
Enzo Fernandez will now return to matchday squads, but his presence is unlikely to address this issue in isolation. There is a big job for the head coach to take this team to the next level.
"Any team will miss Enzo. Myself backed by the leadership group and sporting directors made a decision for the long-term of the club. There's nothing personal with Enzo. He will be back with the group on Tuesday. He is a top player and a good guy. Really looking forward to having him back.
"The hurdle I spoke about: Enzo wanted to have a conversation with the leadership group - the main players of the group - and speak to the players. The time I had the press conference, he hadn't done that yet. He has spoken with me, the leadership group and all of the players and we look forward to welcoming him back.
Rosenior’s Verdict: ‘Not Good Enough’
"Not good enough in the second half. We didn't start well. Had moments to clear the box and keep the ball, but we didn't. They were camped in our half for the first five minutes and then we concede a goal. Then it's a similar story for the past month now in terms of dealing with setbacks.
“If you go down against teams as good as this, what you have to do for the next five minutes is to stay in the game. It ended up being a really, really difficult second half."
Confidence and Resilience Must Improve
“I am accountable. This is a group. [Resilience] is something we need to improve. It starts with your habits and values. I can't say there was a lack of effort.
“There was a lack of confidence in the second half. We have to improve.” – Liam Rosenior
“But there was a lack of confidence in the second half. We have to improve. We are in a difficult place at the moment, and we have got another huge game next week. We can't forget that we were playing against a team in massive form pushing for the title. But we need to win games like this.
“That's why I have come to the club. When you make these errors, the feeling and flow of the game changes. We have to make sure we need to do better in those moments if you want to win a game.
*"It's not an excuse for the second half performance. But if that [**Marc Cucurella*] goal goes in, we go up in terms of confidence and energy. But we have to be more resilient to setbacks. You can go a goal down, but you have to stay in the game - that's what disappointed me the most."