EPL: ‘Chelsea’s performance was nowhere near what we expected’ – Rosenior

Liam Rosenior admitted Chelsea had a “really difficult evening” against Everton, with the Blues head coach saying both the display and the result were “nowhere near what we expect”.

It was a frustrating first visit to the Hill Dickinson Stadium for Chelsea. The Blues went behind shortly after the half-hour when James Garner threaded a pass to Beto, who lifted his finish over Robert Sanchez.

Chelsea created opportunities to level before half-time, with their best chance seeing Jordan Pickford make an excellent save to keep out Enzo Fernandez.

The Argentina international was denied again by the England goalkeeper after the break, a key moment in the game, before Beto struck a second soon after. Iliman Ndiaye then added a third with a composed finish to seal Chelsea’s defeat on Merseyside.

“In terms of the things we’ve spoken about, not gifting goals away, making sure we’re in the game, getting control of the game, it wasn’t there,” Rosenior reflected after the match.

“It turned into a really difficult evening where the result and performance were nowhere near what we expected or wanted.”

The Blues head coach continued: “We had an edgy start in terms of the cheap giveaways, then we managed to gain control of the game, were in their half, arriving and creating moments which we didn’t take – we weren’t clinical enough.

“But then, it feels like out of nowhere, they score. That isn’t the first time that’s happened, and what happens if you’re in a difficult run of games is that your energy and confidence levels can drop when the other team scores first. That’s what happened.

“Pickford makes a world-class save at 1-0, then we come out in the second half and have control of the game, but we make a mistake and they’re 2-0 up, which gives them even more energy. It’s about flow and momentum, and we didn’t have that in the game today.”

Rosenior acknowledged Chelsea are going through a difficult spell, with the loss marking a fourth straight defeat in all competitions. However, he stressed that his players are still fully committed in their efforts to turn results around.

“I don’t think there’s a lack of effort, I don’t think there’s a lack of belief and determination in the team,” he explained.

“I am aware that when you’re on a run of defeats and performances that we’ve had, those things get levelled at you but I don’t think that’s the issue in this moment.”