“Immaturity” – Chelsea star questions Liam Rosenior’s team after PSG ‘punished’ Blues

Chelsea suffered a 5-2 defeat against Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League last 16 on Wednesday. Liam Rosenior’s men have a hard task to turn it around in the second leg.

Chelsea’s Wesley Fofana has been critical of the Blues’ performance at Parc des Princes.

RMC Sport have relayed his comments. His words indicate he is questioning Liam Rosenior’s tactical plan or refusal to change it towards the end of the clash. The France international played the full 90 minutes in the Blues’ latest defeat.

Bradley Barcola opened the scoring for PSG in the 10th minute, and Chelsea’s Malo Gusto scored the equaliser 18 minutes later. Ousmane Dembélé restored the Ligue 1 side’s lead before the break.

Enzo Fernández then equalised for Chelsea in the 57th minute before PSG regained the lead for the second time via Vitinha’s goal in the 74th minute. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia extended the hosts’ lead in the 86th minute and finished the tie with another late goal.

Fofana: Chelsea made mistakes

According to Sofascore, PSG and the Premier League side’s expected goals [xG] were 0.87 and 1.53 respectively. This gives an indication Luis Enrique’s side overperformed against Chelsea.

The 25-year-old believes PSG punished the west London club for their mistakes. He is also surprised Rosenior didn’t change his plan after the Blues conceded the fourth goal.

“We’re very disappointed because we made mistakes and we paid the price. They’re a great team and we were punished every time we made a mistake,” he said.

“We’re disappointed because even at the end of the match, when it was 4-2, we still showed immaturity and wanted to press even though the game was over.

“We just had to hold onto the 4-2 lead before the second leg. And then we conceded that fifth goal, which hurts even more. We have three goals to make up, and we’ll do everything we can. We have nothing to lose, so we’ll try.”

It’s quite possible Fofana may have overreacted. Chelsea appointed Rosenior as Enzo Maresca’s successor in January. He managed 16 matches so far, winning 10 and losing four of them. In that period his side scored 40 goals and conceded 24 of which five were against PSG.

The four defeats were against PSG and Arsenal in the league. The other two were also against the Gunners in the two-legged EFL Cup semi-final.

Why Chelsea have uphill task

Sport Witness covered claims Estevão will miss the fixtures against PSG and Newcastle United [this weekend]. His absence for the second leg would be a blow for the Blues.

The return leg will take place at Stamford Bridge on March 17th, and Chelsea have a big task to make it to the Champions League quarter-final.

A February report from UEFA reveals only three clubs have overturned a three-goal deficit in the return leg.

Both AS Roma and Liverpool did it against Barcelona during the 2017/18 and 2019/19 season respectively. Deportivo La Coruña are the third club and did it against AC Milan in the 2003/04 season.

This gives an idea of the mammoth task Chelsea have on their hands to make it to the last eight.