Now, things get serious.
Liam Rosenior has made a good start to his Chelsea career. There were routine wins against Brentford, Paphos, Crystal Palace and Wolves, but there were also thrilling wins away to Napoli and three points at home to West Ham.
The defeats to Arsenal in both Carabao Cup semi-finals were disappointing and missed opportunities, but understandable.
However, that all changed at home after Leeds and Burnley drew their last two Premier League home games and were denied a win.
Chelsea currently face a daunting match. This is the toughest battle among teams competing for a spot in the Champions League.
The pressure is on heavily after, as Rosenior said, “we sparked four points from two home games”.
A top-five finish is not certain at this point.
Chelsea currently only have a lead over Liverpool on goal difference. And now they must protect that advantage through a series of games, starting with away games at Arsenal and Aston Villa, and then with Chelsea hosting Manchester City and Manchester United in back-to-back games in mid-April.
They then have to go to Anfield on May 9th.
And that’s before factoring in a Champions League knock-out spot against Paris Saint-Germain or Newcastle, and an FA Cup draw with Wrexham, which would cut training time and put a strain on resources.
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Liam Rosenior has reflected on Chelsea’s “frustrating” 1-1 draw at home with bottom side Burnley after the Blues conceded in stoppage time.
Opta’s prediction model, which predicts Chelsea to finish sixth, will focus on this series of games. This is a significant setback after Enzo Maresca took charge in fourth place last season, and the loss of Champions League income will complicate plans for the summer transfer window.
This will also lead to further criticism of Chelsea’s team composition. Chelsea’s focus on youth and potential rather than experience has led to accusations that they lack poise and cutting edge.
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Watch for free: Highlights of the Premier League match between Chelsea and Burnley.
After Chelsea’s draw with Burnley, Rosenior and opposition manager Scott Parker spoke about the quality of the Blues’ squad. They rank third in Opta’s expected points (xG) table, based on expected goals data.
In fact, they produce the highest xG score of any team in the Premier League.
However, they also scored about four fewer goals than they should have, ranking them fourth worst for underperforming on this metric.
Sunday, March 1st 4:25pm
4:30pm kickoff
This is a Chelsea team that tops the statistic of PPDA (Opposition Passes Per Defense Action), a metric that measures how quickly a team wins the ball back. Still, they conceded 12 set-piece goals. Only four teams have conceded more goals.
In both boxes, they found themselves lacking at key moments.
For Chelsea supporters, it has been another season of anticipation, with glimpses of what this talented young group will become, but it has also been a season of untimely setbacks, missteps and switch-offs that hurt the team at key times.
The margin of error is now minimal. Now, things get serious.
Lessons to be learned…
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Sky Sports pundits Paul Merson and Jamie Redknapp criticized Chelsea’s lackluster performance in their Carabao Cup semi-final second leg defeat to Arsenal, but Liam Rosenior responded to their comments in the post-match press conference.
Chelsea started the season with a defeat against Arsenal in February. They will hope to learn lessons from their defeat in the second leg of the Carabao Cup semi-finals and will start March from there…
Don’t be passive…Sky Sports pundit Paul Merson slammed Chelsea after the cup match for “not trying too hard” to overturn the 3-2 aggregate lead Arsenal had held from the first leg.
Chelsea won’t be able to make a big splash on this trip to the Premier League, but Rosenior won’t want to see a repeat of the slow possession they showed against Burnley last week. Chelsea were in good form but were unable to score a second goal, and Wesley Fofana’s red card changed the game.
“We want to make an impact. We want to create waves of attacks one after another,” coach Rosenior said after the draw. He won’t have that kind of dominance at the Emirates, but Chelsea in possession will have to show intent.
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Chelsea head coach Liam Rosenior had some standout moments before, during and after the Carabao Cup semi-final second leg defeat to Arsenal.
Solving set-piece struggles… Jeanne Fleming’s header to snatch a point against Burnley at Stamford Bridge was brilliant, but it helps to respond to pinpoint shots from James Ward and Prowse when there are free runs or unmarked opportunities.
When Chelsea were down 10 points, Rosenior noticed Ward-Prowse’s quality performance and filled the pitch with giants. However, he was furious at the player who “didn’t do his job” and set Fleming free.
They cannot do the same again against Arsenal, the Premier League’s top set-piece scorers, who scored from a corner kick against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
Shut up… Chelsea have now had eight red cards this season. Rosenior, caretaker Callum MacFarlane and Maresca insisted there were no discipline problems in the squad. Well, there are certainly cases of lack of calm, but that trait is extremely important at the Emirates.
Remember, this is a must-win for Arsenal as they aim to win the Premier League title. Emotions are running high and Chelsea need to stay focused.
It’s not just about red cards. After Fofana was sent off against Burnley, Rosenior said the draw added to the list of games in which Chelsea had “conceded goals due to a lack of concentration and a lack of accountability”, following games away at Wolves, away at Crystal Palace and at home to Leeds.
Chelsea team news ahead of away match against Arsenal
Fofana is suspended for the trip to London, but Marc Cucurella is absent and Estevao is in doubt.
Romeo Rabia returned to the bench against Burnley as he hopes to make a comeback from injury.
