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Liam Rosenior was full of praise for one of his players despite Chelsea falling to a 3-2 defeat against Arsenal in the first leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday night.
The Blues endured a difficult evening against Mikel Arteta’s side and, at one stage, looked in danger of being blown away. However, late goals ensured Chelsea remain very much alive in the tie heading into the second leg at the Emirates Stadium.
Chelsea Stay in the Tie Despite Arsenal Pressure
Arsenal twice took firm control of the contest, but Chelsea refused to fold.
Alejandro Garnacho came off the bench to score and reduce the deficit to 2-1 before Martin Zubimendi restored Arsenal’s two-goal advantage. Mikel Merino then went close to adding a fourth, only to be denied by an excellent save from Robert Sánchez, who partially redeemed himself after earlier mistakes that led directly to goals.
Garnacho struck again late on to make it 3-2, ensuring Chelsea travel to north London with just a one-goal deficit.
Rosenior Highlights Pedro Neto’s Outstanding Performance
While Garnacho earned praise for another impactful cameo, Rosenior was particularly impressed by Pedro Neto, who he felt embodied everything he wanted from his team.
“All of them are very good. Garnacho has a good goalscoring record — two very good finishes today,” Rosenior told Sky Sports.
“But I thought Pedro Neto was outstanding in both ways. Very good pressing. I asked him to play three different positions and he did it for the team.”
Neto’s tactical flexibility and work rate clearly stood out to the Chelsea head coach.
“There were a lot of positive individual performances. We were missing a lot of players too. I saw the fight in the team and we are going to need that moving forward.”
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Rosenior Reflects on the Defeat
Despite finding positives, Rosenior was honest about areas that need improvement — particularly in defensive organisation.
“In terms of energy, pressing, running back and helping the team, I’m very happy,” he said.
“I’m not happy with the result, and I’m not happy with the manner of the goals we conceded.”
The decisive moment, according to Rosenior, came from a lapse in concentration after Chelsea had given themselves hope.
“When we get back to 2-1, the goal comes from a restart. They take a quick free-kick, we aren’t organised in our shape and they play through. These are small details at this level.”
He also admitted Chelsea still have issues in possession:
“We still have issues with our build and that is something we will address. But what I asked for was energy and fight — and we didn’t give up. We’re still in the tie.”
Matt Upson: ‘Rosenior Will Be Pleased’
BBC pundit Matt Upson echoed Rosenior’s sentiment, suggesting the Chelsea boss would take encouragement from his side’s resilience.
“I think Liam Rosenior will enjoy the fact that they came back,” Upson told BBC Sport.
“There were a couple of times where Arsenal could have run away with it.”
Upson also highlighted how much positional rotation Rosenior introduced during the match.
“There were probably only three players who didn’t change position throughout the 90 minutes — Andrey Santos, Enzo Fernández and the goalkeeper. With that in mind, they’ve actually done alright. There was grit and a willingness to dig in.”
Looking Ahead
Chelsea may have lost on the night, but Rosenior will be encouraged by the response, the fight, and standout performances from players like Pedro Neto and Alejandro Garnacho.
With the tie still finely balanced, the Blues head to the Emirates knowing that improvement in small details could make a big difference.
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