Liam Rosenior: Chelsea players deserve credit despite Carabao Cup exit

By SABC Sport
4th February 2026

Liam Rosenior stood by his tactical approach after Chelsea were knocked out of the Carabao Cup, insisting caution was necessary as his side failed to overturn a 3-2 aggregate deficit against Arsenal.

Chelsea needed a controlled performance to stay in the tie, and Rosenior opted to switch to a back three, adopting a conservative setup aimed at limiting risk and allowing for a late push.

However, the plan struggled to gain traction as Chelsea failed to seriously trouble Arsenal over the course of the match, with their attacking play lacking incision and urgency.

Rosenior sought to inject more attacking intent just after the hour mark, introducing Cole Palmer and Estevao around the 60-minute mark.

Despite the changes, Chelsea continued to find it difficult to create clear-cut chances, often being forced into hopeful possession rather than meaningful opportunities in the final third.

Arsenal, by contrast, defended resolutely and showed composure throughout, comfortably managing Chelsea's limited threat.

Any remaining hopes of a dramatic comeback were ended in stoppage time when Kai Havertz scored against his former club. The late strike confirmed Chelsea's elimination and underlined Arsenal's control of the tie.

Speaking after the match, Rosenior defended his cautious tactics, explaining that the intention was to keep Chelsea in contention for as long as possible before committing numbers forward.

"I've been a pundit. It's easy. It's easy in hindsight," said Rosenior.

"If I go and attack the game, press really high and we can concede two early goals, everyone says 'What's he doing?' That's the reality.

"The reality of my job is that if you lose games you'll be criticised. If you win, you're a genius. It's normally somewhere in between, I think."

He added: "On 60 minutes, I bring on Cole and Estevao and the game opens up and we have moments in and around the box. I think there was a feeling in the stadium that this tie could turn.

"We didn't achieve what we wanted to. But I have to give our players so much credit for what they put into the game and ultimately their goal comes when we're just throwing the kitchen sink at the game."