The full transcript from Chelsea head coach Liam Rosenior’s post-match press conference following the Blues’ 2-2 draw with Leeds United on Tuesday evening
Liam Rosenior applauds the Chelsea supporters after their draw with Leeds United(Image: Chris Lee – Chelsea FC)
Liam Rosenior has just spoken to the media following Chelsea’s disappointing draw with Leeds United at Stamford Bridge.
The Blues are left scratching their heads how they didn’t record all three points on Tuesday evening after finding themselves two goals to the good on 58 minutes when Cole Palmer’s penalty added to Joao Pedro’s first-half strike. Leeds fought back with goals from Lukas Nmecha and Noah Okafor to ensure the points were shared in a miserable west London.
Here is every word Rosenior had to say in his post-match presser:
FOLLOW OUR CHELSEA FB PAGE! Latest Blues news, analysis and much more via our dedicated Facebook page
How did Chelsea end up drawing there?
Two key moments in the game that we don’t take care of. We don’t stay calm. Moises Caicedo is a magnificent player, he’s been top for me. We make a poor decision. Actually, how the play gets there as well. We make a few poor decisions in terms of how we press in that moment and we give away a penalty when, like genuinely, I can’t remember Leeds having a shot or a moment in the game. Some of our football, in possession, our press, our energy, was everything I wanted to see and that makes it even more of a bitter pill to swallow that we haven’t won the game.
You’ve said before that Chelsea need to improve how they react to setbacks, is that more proof?
I think it’s within six minutes. So the penalty goes in, they hit a few long balls, their energy’s up, they pick up a few second balls and then the lad handballs it. He handballs it, it affects my players in that moment. They think it’s a handball, we switch off, we don’t clear the ball, they score. Then for 25 minutes after that, it was wave after wave of attack. We have to just make sure we take care of moments and be professional. I don’t think it’s about reacting to setbacks. You’re always going to have a spell in the game where you’re not on top. The ridiculous thing for us is that they’ve managed to score two goals in a five-minute period, when for the other 90 minutes of the game, we were by far the better team.
Joao Pedro was great again today. What have you been working on with him?
He’s a top player, he always has been. I know how hard, speaking to the guys, the club, worked to bring him to the club because he’s had that potential and he’s now starting to show that. Some of the play, some of the movements and the patterns in the first half was everything I wanted to see in the team. And Joao suits the way I want to play down to the ground. And even at the end, his energy levels, to create the chances for himself in the second half that he did, he was really unfortunate with the header. He’s showing me an energy and intensity and a quality that is of a really, really high level.
He seems to have struck up quite a good partnership with Cole Palmer. Is that something you want to see more of?
Yeah, well, it wasn’t just those two. Enzo [Fernandez], Estevao [Willian], Andrey [Santos] and Moi [Caicedo] in midfield. Malo Gusto’s runs from the back line. Pedro Neto is combining with Malo in the second half and Moi. I want them all to connect and combine. That’s the way that we, that’s the way I want to play. First half, some of the moments were really enjoyable to watch. It’s so frustrating that I’m not speaking about that more because we should have three points in our pocket and be speaking about all the positives from that performance.
Can you believe you haven’t won given how well you were playing?
Anything can happen in football when you don’t take care of key moments. That’s why we watch the game. I hope people can see the progression already, considering we’ve [played], what is it, 10-11 games in 30 days. It’s a clear change and no disrespect to anything that’s happened before. There’s a change in the things I like to see, but what I really want to see is three points on the board every week.
Do you think that when it was going right today that Chelsea had more control than maybe they did at the beginning of your tenure and before you took over?
I think that’s natural. We played some really good teams. Leeds are on a good run of form. They’re a very good team. I think we nullified everything and we showed we could create chances with our possession, which is a really positive thing. It’s just a real shame that because of six minutes where we didn’t take care of two moments, I’m not talking about a really good team performance and a win.
It’s obviously a huge chance for Cole at the end. Is that just football?
Yes, he’s in the position and 999 times out of 1000 he scores. It was just that one-in-a-thousand moment. I have to say, the last 20 minutes was wave after wave of attack. The lads’ energy, considering the amount of games that we played, the belief they show, we create chance after chance. It just didn’t quite go in, but we shouldn’t be in that position. When we lead at 2-0, the game should be done at home and there are certain things I can show the players, so we make sure that that can’t happen again.
Why did Marc Cucurella come off?
Unfortunately, at half-time, he felt his hamstring. It wasn’t a tactical change. It was one that was enforced and Cucu’s been top and hopefully he’ll be OK. We’ll scan him and make sure we find out if he’s available for the next game.
What change do Chelsea need to make to get the best out of both their attackers and defenders?
Yeah, I don’t think it was a tactical or structural issue in this game. I just think we make poor decisions in key moments and I never ever blame individuals. It’s a team moment. I was frustrated after the second goal with a couple of things that I’ll show the players of why the momentum of the game changed. That’s a team thing. If we can just focus and concentrate for 90 minutes, this team has unbelievable potential, which you saw for probably 90% of the game today. A month in, I feel like I already know what we need to work on to improve that. It’s making sure we get the time to do it.
Ensure our latest sport headlines always appear at the top of your Google Search by making us a Preferred Source. Click here to activate or add us as Preferred Source in your Google search settings