Liam Rosenior admitted Chelsea could not afford the early mistakes that handed Paris Saint-Germain control of their Champions League last-16 tie, as the Blues crashed out 8-2 on aggregate at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday night.
PSG were two goals up inside 14 minutes, and Rosenior was candid about the damage those early setbacks caused. “A tough night. We knew it was a tough ask and to start the game in the manner that we did, we had the ball in the final third, you can’t make mistakes at this level. We had the ball in their box and Barcola hit one from 25 yards into the top corner. Their belief grows.”
The Chelsea manager pointed to clinical finishing as the key difference between the two sides. “They were clinical. The third goal, ball breaks and he hits it into the top corner. I haven’t looked at the stats yet, but we had a lot of shots. They didn’t make mistakes.”
Sarr and the defensive crisis
The decision to start 19-year-old Mamadou Sarr at right-back, with both Reece James and Malo Gusto unavailable, drew considerable scrutiny after the Frenchman struggled against Kvaratskhelia’s movement in the opening exchanges.
Rosenior defended the call but acknowledged the toll it took. “Mamadou, he’s a very good player, but we missed our two starting right-backs. There are times when you have to put players in and you have to trust them. It took the wind out of our sails.”
The evening grew worse when Trevoh Chalobah was stretchered off late in the game following a collision with Hakimi, leaving Chelsea without a substitute available to replace him.
Rosenior revealed the initial diagnosis after the final whistle. “Trevoh, I just asked the medical team. He’s got a high ankle sprain, so I’m praying it’s nothing too serious because we can’t lose another defender.”
With a top-four push the sole remaining objective for the Blues, attention now turns to a Premier League visit to Everton this weekend.
“When you go through a difficult run, you have to make sure your habits are right. We have a really difficult game at Everton and we have to be at our best to get a result there”, Rosenior added.
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