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The full transcript from Chelsea head coach Liam Rosenior's post-match press conference following the Blues' 3-0 defeat to Everton at the Hill Dickinson Stadium
Liam Rosenior has just completed his pre-match press conference following Chelsea's 3-0 defeat to Everton this evening.
The Blues have now been beaten four times in a row in all competitions with the Toffees the latest side to punish them for individual mistakes. Beto scored twice for the hosts on Merseyside and Iliman Ndiaye added a third for the home side.
Rosenior will face the press shortly to reflect on what we just witnessed. Here is every word the Chelsea head coach had to say in his press conference:
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What are your initial thoughts on the defeat?
Yeah, the most disappointing evening so far in terms of the things we've spoken about, not gifting goals away and making sure we're in the game, getting control of the game. It wasn't there and it turned into a really, really difficult evening where the result and performance was nowhere near what we expected or wanted.
When you talk about the performance not being what you wanted, we've spoken in the past about individual moments. What were the other factors maybe beyond that tonight for you?
No, for me, we arrived into the final third a lot. The moment they scored the first goal, we had an edgy start in terms of cheap giveaways that we gave away. Then we managed to gain control of the game and we're arriving and creating moments which we don't take, we're not clinical enough. And then out of nowhere, it feels like out of nowhere they score. And it's not the first time that that's happened. And what happens in football, if you are in a run, a difficult run of games against big teams, your energy levels and your confidence levels can drop if the other team score first. And that's what happened. Pickford makes a world-class save at 1-0. Then we come out in the second half, have control of the game. And then we make a mistake and they're 2-0 up and it gives them even more energy. It's about flow and momentum. And we didn't have that in the game today.
In the context of Enzo Fernandez's comments, even though you cleared that up, do you think the players are trying at the best level? Are they working at the best level?
I know when you look at a team that are 3-0 down, you're trying to press and get your way back into the game. And it looks like the distance has become really, really big. For me, I don't think there's a lack of effort. I don't think there's a lack of belief or determination in the team. In fact, I felt like Enzo kept going until the very, very last minute today. So, I'm aware when you're on a run of defeats that we're on, and when you're on a run of performances that we've had, those things get levelled at you. But I don't think that's the issue in this moment.
What's the reasons behind maybe you being a bit open in the last few games at certain moments?
The first goal seems quite similar to the one [vs Newcastle], but when you watch the goal back, it's not a tactical thing. We didn't go man for man today. We played 4-4-2. I thought our shape was actually very good. We controlled their possession. They didn't expect it. They ended up kicking the ball back to us a lot of the time, and we gained control of the game. And then it's a moment. It's a moment of switching off. I want to protect my players always. I always will. And I take responsibility for that lapse in concentration, but that's what it is. And that's happened too many times in my time recently for me not to tell the truth as it is.
Can I ask you about the half-time substitution sort of tactical thinking behind that?
The thinking behind it was I felt like we had so much control. Without the cutting edge that we had, we had chances. Pickford made an unbelievable save and we were getting into the final third more and more. We wanted to make a positive change at half-time and get an extra winger on the pitch. And Moises [Caicedo] done that job very, very well against Everton, against Ndiaye, before inverting from right-back. You try and make positive changes to influence the game. And I felt even that change, that change up until the second goal. Again, I need to watch the game back. I've watched it once live. We arrived in that final third time and time and time again without that clinical moment. And we make a mistake for the second goal.
Can I also just check about Jamie Gittens, what's the latest on him?
Unfortunately, Jamie came back into training with us and then re-injured. This was before Newcastle.
There were some stats floating around about being outran by Everton and other sides. Is that down to Chelsea's involvement in the Club World Cup?
No, I think through the season, if you look at the stats before me, they were very similar. I think what I don't want to do, I don't want to be seen to make excuses because that was not good enough. The last week hasn't been good enough. I think if you're a logical thinking person and you look at the workload and the amount of games that the players have played, I think it's a pretty simple conclusion to come to. Why I think the international break has come at a good time for us is because hopefully those players get a change. Most of them have to fly across the world and play for their countries. But maybe a reset, maybe some time away to regather and have a different environment and come back may refresh the group.
Chelsea haven't scored in over 300 minutes now. Is that something that will naturally come back?
I think if you keep arriving and creating the moments that you do, you take them. For me, statistically, if you go through each game, it's not for a lack of shots, it's not for a lack of final third entries. That's where we need to be more clinical and that's something we need to work on.
Did you feel you had to go and acknowledge the away supporters at the end?
For sure. They pay their money, they love this club and they've come a long way. It's a disappointing time for the club at the moment in terms of the way we lost in the Champions League and the way we've lost the last two games. My job, it hurts. Regardless of your position, it hurts to lose games of football. In terms of moving forward and having this time is to look at the bigger picture. We're one point away from the Champions League position. We need to keep working in this way. We need to keep giving the players as much confidence as possible and hopefully this break of games now for us comes at a really good moment.
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