Rosenior defends Chelsea’s approach in Carabao Cup defeat to Arsenal – and provides fitness update on trio | OneFootball

Liam Rosenior defended his tactics in Chelsea’s Carabao Cup semi-final second leg against Arsenal despite falling to a 1-0 defeat.

The Gunners advanced to the final with a 4-2 aggregate victory, with Kai Havertz scoring a late winner in the second leg at the Emirates Stadium.

Chelsea struggled to create chances but Rosenior praised his players and defended his tactics despite the defeat.

“I’ve been a pundit. It’s easy. It’s easy in hindsight,” the Blues boss said on the criticism of his side’s approach.

“If I go and attack the game, press really high and we concede two goals early, everyone says what’s he doing? That’s the reality of my job. The reality of my job is that if you lose games you’ll be criticised and if you win you’re a genius. It’s normally somewhere in between that.

“We’ve had a lot to contend with the last couple of days. A couple of fitness tests this morning. Normally I name the team the day before, I named the team this afternoon when I had the full details of who was available.

“I have to give the players so much credit. Our schedule has been incredible so for them to put in the energy, the fight, and the spirit was there, but unfortunately for us we didn’t quite have the quality moments.”

Reece James and Pedro Neto both missed the game with knocks, while Cole Palmer was only introduced as a second-half substitute.

Explaining those decisions, Rosenior said: “Pedro and Reece had small knocks and they were just in too much pain for tonight. They’re giving everything. They would always put their hand up to play.

“Reece is an incredible captain and leader and Pedro is an outstanding professional and a great player.

“Cole gave us an incredible 90 minute performance and was the reason we fought back against West Ham. He’s a gem. We have to take care of him and make sure he’s right for the whole season.”

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