Liam Rosenior explains why one player missed Chelsea trip to Hull – and why another got a surprise start | OneFootball

Chelsea manager Liam Rosenior explained why he didn’t pick Cole Palmer, as well as some of his other rotation decisions.

Liam Rosenior had some pretty big decisions to make when it came to his team tonight.

He wanted to pick a strong team, but also rest key players who needed it.

In the end Cole Palmer and Trevoh Chalobah were among the first team regulars who didn’t travel, while Moises Caicedo did make a surprising start given his recent workload.

Asked why Palmer wasn’t there, Rosenior confirmed it was simply a question of keeping him fresh.

“Managing. Managing him. It was brilliant to see Reece [James] back on the pitch. Brilliant for him to get those 60 minutes,” the Chelsea manager said.

“I was planning on giving Enzo [Fernandez] 45 minutes with Moi [Caicedo]. I’m trying to manage their minutes. In the end, I felt it was right for Moi to stay on for 60. I’m delighted they’ve all come through unscathed and now, for the first time in a long time, they’ve got a full week to prepare for Burnley.”

Rosenior and Chelsea ready for much-needed break

A group of Chelsea players against Hull.(Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images)

This is the first midweek off that Rosenior has had since taking the job in early January. We’re sure he will enjoy the break just as much as the players. Things are going really well, and we’re excited about what he could do with more time on the training pitch.

In other news…

Mamadou Sarr made a confident debut tonight, and Rosenior was also full of praise for the defender, who he knows well from their shared time in France.

Chelsea’s second and third were really nice – a goal direct from a corner from Pedro Neto (nobody is quite sure if it took a touch, but it’s been given to him), and a great run from Liam Delap to set up Estevao for the second.