Chelsea count cost of Rosenior ‘obsession’ and winning Man Utd battle vs Newcastle | OneFootball

After Chelsea counted the cost of Liam Rosenior’s tactical “obsession” on Wednesday as Paris Saint-Germain tore through them at the Paris des Princes in the last 20 minutes, Eddie Howe and Newcastle relied on the same fixation at Stamford Bridge to strike a crushing blow in the Blues’ bid for Champions League qualification.

“He can go left, he can go right. But no, there’s an obsession with going through the centre,” Jamie Carragher said as he analysed Filip Jorgensen’s blunder, which turned the tide firmly in PSG’s favour from a state of extreme and impressive comfort for Chelsea at the home of the European champions.

Enzo Fernandez was seen screaming at the goalkeeper after having his pocket picked from another straight pass late in the defeat; in response to the Jorgensen error and that viral clip, Rosenior reaffirmed he’s asked his players to “play in a certain way”.

The risk is clear and – in fairness – so too was the reward in Paris and for the first 20 minutes here, when Cole Palmer was frequently found on the half-turn between the lines and perhaps should have made more of the favourable positions he took up, as Chelsea failed to take advantage of a spell of dominance expected against a Newcastle team without any of midfield trio Bruno Guimaraes, Sandro Tonali or Joelinton for the first time in the Premier League under Eddie Howe.

Rarely has the ‘goals change games’ cliche been quite so justified, nor a Premier League goal scored quite so easily – ironically straight through Chelsea’s soft centre – as Rosenior shook his head on the touchline at his players’ disregard for his “obsession”.

Tino Livramento took a stroll into midfield and could hardly believe his eyes as he looked up and spotted Joe Willock free in a gaping hole between Chelsea’s two centre-backs having wandered off the back of Reece James in midfield. Willock ran through and squared the ball for Anthony Gordon, who took one touch before rolling it into an empty net.

To say Chelsea lost their way after the goal would be the understatement of all understatements as Howe and Newcastle gave Alejandro Garnacho and Palmer the wings in the knowledge that they would never use them, clogging up passing lanes in the centre of the pitch to stymie Chelsea entirely for the rest of the first half and much of the second.

A three-minute period to sum up the flow of the game saw Chelsea play very pretty but pointless passes and turn down several presentable crossing opportunities before Fernandez delivered one straight to Aaron Ramsdale, and then quite literally one pass had Harvey Barnes running in behind the Blues defence.

Chelsea improved in the second half but created little and any time a player popped up in space in a shooting position they were swarmed by a hugely impressive Newcastle defence.

Liam Delap came on at half time to offer the Blues more presence in the box as Rosenior recognised the primary means of creating chances would be through crosses into the box, but the £30m summer signing’s harrowing debut season continued to strengthen suggestions it may also be his last.

Chris Sutton claimed Delap was “unlucky” as a flicked header from a Palmer cross drifted just wide of the post, though the abundance of misfortune in similar positions this term suggests his lack of goals is more down to a lack of quality he displayed in stunning style through a left-foot swinger as he spurned Chelsea’s best chance of the second half.

The ball rolled to him under some pressure from a Newcastle defender and rather than pass a shot into the bottom corner, he struck it like someone who has rarely seen a football, let alone kicked one. Todd Boehly must have been ruing victory over Manchester United in that transfer battle as he watched from the stands.

It’s a huge opportunity missed for Chelsea, who could have gone third with victory over a team they’d lost to just once at home before in Premier League history, featuring none of their trusted midfield trio, between two Champions League games against Barcelona.

It’s embarrassing for Rosenior, who handed out more notes to his players than Chelsea created chances in a game where his “obsession” cost them in attack after it hurt them in defence against PSG. A Plan B more nuanced than sending on an inept big man up top might be good if Rosenior is to lead Chelsea in a “successful” season.

“A successful season for this club has to be to qualify for the Champions League,” Rosenior said last month. “It has to be. That’s the level of this club. Where we are, we still have a very, very good chance of achieving that. Also to win a trophy would be amazing. It’s something that’s achievable.”

Amid reports suggesting his future may be inextricably linked with that achievement, this was a performance and result to suggest he’s on his way to being sacked by a club and BlueCo hierarchy who’ve shown beyond doubt that they won’t suffer fools who fail to meet their mark.