Chelsea: Liam Rosenior hails 'scary' Joao Pedro amid new Champions League verdict | OneFootball

Blues back in European reckoning after Man Utd and Liverpool stutters

Liam Rosenior claimed he never thought Champions League qualification was out of reach after Chelsea’s dominant 4-1 victory away to Aston Villa saw them move up to fifth in the Premier League table.

Buoyed by results around them going their way, though, the west London club put in a fearsome display to come from behind and close the gap to fourth-place Villa to three points.

Rosenior had faced some scrutiny following Sunday’s defeat, but he says he never had any doubt that even if his side lost to Villa, they would remain in contention for Champions League qualification.

“No, it wouldn't have been gone,” Rosenior said.

The Blues boss was asked if the result could be significant in Chelsea’s pursuit of Champions League football.

“It's only significant if we back it up,” Rosenior continued.

“We have to be consistent. We have a massive FA Cup game, then we've got a huge game in Paris, and then we've got another huge game against Newcastle. We just need to back it up and not look at the significance of the games.

“We just need to perform, and if we perform at that level, we're going to be in a good place.”

Joao Pedro’s hat-trick put Chelsea firmly in control after Douglas Luiz had given Villa the early lead, and Rosenior, who praised the Brazilian as “scary”, described his second goal, a deft finish, as world-class.

“He's a top player,” Rosenior said of the striker.

“I think he's grown in confidence. I think his hold-up play, the energy he puts into the team in terms of his press, his movement, his goal with the left foot is world-class.

“The finish is magnificent. But actually, I'm really, really delighted with his two tap-ins that he got. He was in the right place at the right time. We worked hard with him on that, but he gets the hat-trick.

“It's really hard to single someone out. I thought it was an outstanding team performance, starting with Filip [Jorgensen], going through the back line, midfield, Moises [Caicedo], Enzo [Fernandez], Romeo [Lavia] when he comes on, [Alejandro] Garnacho we've spoken about. I just thought it was an outstanding team performance.”