Outrun and in decline - are Rosenior's Chelsea near crisis point?

By

Football reporter at Hill Dickinson Stadium

Chelsea are in freefall after their latest defeat - 3-0 at Everton - and now have a two‑week international break during which to stew on 10 damaging days.

After suffering an 8-2 aggregate loss to Paris St‑Germain in the Champions League last 16, Chelsea's defeat at the hands of Beto and Ilman Ndiaye on Saturday means back‑to‑back Premier League losses and no wins in four in all competitions.

This has led to increasing scrutiny of head coach Liam Rosenior and the club as a whole, not least from vice‑captain Enzo Fernandez, who said Chelsea had lost "identity, structure and direction" since former boss Enzo Maresca left the club in January, adding the players did not understand why he left.

Although Fernandez went closest to scoring and embraced Rosenior after the match, his comments paint a worrying picture.

Once again on Saturday, Chelsea were outrun, error‑prone and tactically open, as Everton played through them for a comfortable win at the Hill Dickinson Stadium.

The result leaves Chelsea sixth in the Premier League, still just one point behind fifth‑placed Liverpool in the race for Champions League qualification.

However, Everton are now seventh and only two points behind Chelsea, part of a group of sides capable of leapfrogging the struggling giants with seven matches left to play this season.

"I don't focus on the noise," Rosenior told BBC Match of the Day. "I know the reality of where I'm at and where we are at as a club and what we can achieve, which is still some amazing things.

"It's been a really testing period for these lads. We've had a lot of setbacks and we have to dust ourselves down and make sure we come back fighting."

Former Chelsea winger Pat Nevin told BBC Radio 5 Live that Chelsea are "not getting the best" out of their players at present.

"You need to find out why that's happened," he said. "That can't be allowed to happen in the Premier League."

Rosenior has faced criticism for his level of rotation, with no club having made more changes than Chelsea's 99 in the Premier League from match to match.

That rotation has increased under the 41-year-old, who says he does not have a recognised number one goalkeeper, with Robert Sanchez and Filip Jorgensen in rotation.

Sanchez's form has dipped as a result, with further mistakes against Everton. He was caught in possession early on by Beto but was rescued by defender Jorrel Hato, before allowing a shot from the striker to slip through his fingers in the second half.

There was further criticism for others, including defender Wesley Fofana, while even star attackers Cole Palmer and Joao Pedro struggled to create as Chelsea went goalless for a third consecutive match.

"What I need to do better is make better decisions in terms of team selections, how we freshen up the team and rotate the team to make sure we are competitive in these games," Rosenior told BBC Radio 5 Live.

"Having the international break has probably come at a perfect time for us to gather and restock. We also have some clear weeks to get on the training pitch to work on what we want."

Before large numbers of the travelling Chelsea supporters left Everton's stadium before the full-time whistle, they were singing anti-ownership songs. Rosenior approached the remaining fans to apologise and thank them for their support but some see his appointment as symptomatic of wider problems in the hierarchy.

After home matches against Port Vale in the FA Cup quarter-final and a home match against Manchester City, fans of Chelsea and Strasbourg, who are also owned by Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital, will march on Stamford Bridge before the home game with Manchester United (Saturday, 18 April).

"In every area of the game, Everton fought and battled in such a way that has shown Chelsea up," Nevin added.

"Are they not buying into the manager? Is it that they are exhausted after the season they've had? Have they just been beaten on the day?"

Defeat by Everton means Chelsea have lost three of their past four Premier League matches - as many defeats as in their previous 18 games in the competition.

They have also failed to score in three consecutive matches in all competitions for the first time since September 2023 despite attempting 52 shots (16 on target) across those fixtures.

That profligacy in front of goal has been matched by defensive issues, with Chelsea conceding the opening goal in four consecutive Premier League games for the first time since November 2023.

There is also the well‑publicised statistic that Chelsea have been outrun by every Premier League opponent in every match this season.

"We have played 10 Premier League games in my time here and have 17 points," Rosenior told Match of the Day.

"We are not in as bad a place as the noise suggests - but we need to come out of it very quickly."

Indeed, since Rosenior replaced Maresca, Chelsea are fourth in the Premier League form table, winning five of their 10 games.

Only Manchester United, Arsenal and Manchester City have picked up more points in this period.

Wayne Rooney, who had Rosenior as his assistant at Derby County in 2021 and 2022, believes the Chelsea boss is getting unfairly scrutinized.

"I do [think he is harsh criticism]. He has been from the moment he went in," Rooney told Match of the Day.

"Liam knows he will get judged on results. He started really well, they have hit a bad run of form over the last couple of weeks but he needs to figure out a way to get out of it.

"I know he is a fantastic coach, but it's going to take time."

There are many reasons Champions League football is so important for Chelsea. The most obvious is prestige.

Without it, Chelsea risk being unable to attract key transfer targets. Striker Liam Delap is believed to have chosen a move to Stamford Bridge over Manchester United for the chance to play in the Champions League.

Meanwhile, there is also the issue of revenue. Qualification for the competition is the single biggest way for a major club to boost its bottom line. TV income, prize money and matchday revenue are far greater than those generated in the Europa League or Conference League.

It is especially important for Chelsea, who still lack a long‑term front‑of‑shirt sponsor and whose stadium, Stamford Bridge, lags behind the bigger and more modern grounds used by many of their league rivals.

It's for all these reasons that before the season, the primary club target for former boss Maresca was to qualify for next season's Champions League.

And for Rosenior, who was expected to bring stability, that is the continued expectation.