Chelsea suffers a major defeat: The Champions League door is about to close

The 0-3 defeat against Brighton saw Chelsea, for the first time since 1912, lose five straight Premier League games without scoring any goals. Liam Rosenior has been fired, and the Champions League opportunity is slipping away for The Blues...

During his first press conference at Stamford Bridge earlier this year, everyone remembers Rosenior's statement: "Judge me by what you see, not by what you hear. I need truly fair evaluations."

Rosenior is too inexperienced at Stamford Bridge

After more than three months, what can be observed about Chelsea under Rosenior? Forgetful statistics. 11 goals conceded in the last five Premier League matches, and Chelsea have failed to keep a clean sheet for 12 consecutive games. The streak of five losses against Newcastle, Everton, Man City, Manchester United, and Brighton is Chelsea's worst performance in the Premier League era since November 1993. Behind these numbers lies a harsh conclusion: Rosenior was never suited to lead a big club like Chelsea. The 41-year-old manager revealed his immaturity and indecisiveness when Cole Palmer and Joao Pedro were both absent due to injury in the loss to Brighton. He started the match with a three-center-back formation, an idea first used in this Premier League season. Chelsea players felt confused playing in unfamiliar positions, from Pedro Neto as a wing-back to Enzo Fernandez pushed forward to pair with Liam Delap as strikers. That experiment quickly ended after halftime when Alejandro Garnacho replaced Wesley Fofana and Chelsea switched to the more familiar 4-2-3-1 setup.

Rosenior's apology after the match was insufficient to soothe the situation. The former Strasbourg captain did not hesitate to criticize Chelsea players for lacking courage, desire, and the fighting spirit expected of a top club. This shows Rosenior's authority at Stamford Bridge has clearly diminished. It was difficult for him to exert influence in the dressing room, given his background as a fairly average player in England and a coaching career tied to lesser-known clubs like Derby, Hull, or Strasbourg. The handling of Enzo Fernandez's "flirtation" with Real Madrid and the constant leaking of lineup information before matches further indicated that the Chelsea manager's seat was too big for this 41-year-old strategist. Chelsea's leadership staunchly defended Rosenior against public pressure because they wanted to preserve the long-term project spanning over six years with the English tactician.

But it is hard for them to tolerate Chelsea's rapid decline, akin to the Titanic sinking into the ocean a century ago. Cole Palmer stated that some change would be necessary if Chelsea fails to secure a Champions League spot. And what is easiest to change at Stamford Bridge? The manager's position. Chelsea has experienced five different eras if temporary caretakers are excluded. Co-owner Eghbali does not want Chelsea to become a manager-grinding mill with severity exceeding even the Roman Abramovich era. However, missing the Champions League paved the way for the decision to sack Rosenior last night.

Chelsea is poor both in attack and defense

Criticizing Rosenior only reflects half the nature of the crisis hitting Stamford Bridge. The other half is the attitude and mindset of Chelsea players at this moment. It is unbelievable that the reigning FIFA Club World Cup champion experienced a match where they lost 80% of duels, failed to win any aerial challenges, and two of the three conceded goals stemmed from extremely basic football errors, as Rosenior pointed out.

Moises Caicedo, Chelsea's most expensive signing, must take responsibility for the carelessness leading to the second conceded goal. Jorrel Hato, a regular starter under Rosenior, is questioned for his handling of the corner kick that led to Kadioglu's opening goal. Chelsea's goal drought continues on a day when Liam Delap was completely harmless whenever he had the ball, and Fernandez failed to make a difference with the feet of a World Cup champion. The rare bright spot in the loss to Brighton belonged to Alejandro Garnacho, a disappointing figure in many past matches. The problem is Garnacho or any other attacking player has yet to help the blue-shirted team break their Premier League goal drought lasting over a month.

Chelsea under Eghbali is becoming accustomed to crises. In the 2022-23 season, they finished 12th in the Premier League under four different managers. This season, Chelsea still have the FA Cup arena to hope for, with a semifinal against Leeds this Sunday. But who dares to place faith in Chelsea's revival? Rosenior has departed, and many players are playing with mindsets eager to end the season early to focus on the 2026 World Cup?