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The full transcript from Liam Rosenior's post-match press conference after Chelsea's 5-2 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League last 16 first leg
Liam Rosenior has just completed his post-match press conference following Chelsea's 5-2 defeat against Paris Saint-Germain this evening.
In what looked set to be a positive night for the Blues at Parc des Princes, a meltdown in the final 15-or-so minutes means they have it all to do in next week's second leg at Stamford Bridge. Filip Jorgensen made a couple of costly mistakes to leave a sour taste in Chelsea mouths.
Rosenior has just reflected on what we witnessed in Paris. Here is every word the Chelsea head coach said in his post-match press conference:
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How did you see the game?
Yes, a very disappointing result. In an evening, where for much of the game, I was really, really happy with our performance. The last 15, 20 minutes were crazy in many aspects. That's on me. I need to be better in moments, setbacks, mistakes happen. But you have to stay calm in the moment, me included. And we didn't, and we were punished by a very good team, which makes the scoreline a painful one because for 75 minutes, we were in the tie and the game itself.
Do you stand by the Filip Jorgensen decision?
Players make mistakes. Filip's not the first one to make a mistake. And that's part of football. Obviously, it's bitter... In that moment, at 2-2, I think we were in the ascendancy. We were an inch away from going even to 3-3. I think Joao Pedro's goal was like an inch offside. But in the top level, in the Champions League level, it is fine margins. And the fifth goal was the most painful one, we don't settle ourselves down. We don't deal with the basic pattern of play. They score a fifth goal and make the tie very difficult for us.
Can I ask about Enzo Fernandez chucking the ball at Jorgensen and Pedro Neto pushing the ball boy?
Yeah, I think, honestly, on both occasions, I haven't seen them back. I saw there was an allocation with the ball boy. But if there was anything from our side that was wrong or out of order, I apologise on behalf of the club. But I think Pedro has done in interviews. I genuinely haven't seen it back. Yeah, we've spoken a lot about this aspect, discipline, staying calm in the moment. It's on me to find the answer because what we won't speak about now, rightly so, was so much good in our play. It doesn't matter because we're here to win. We've made this tie, we've kind of shot ourselves in the foot and made this tie very, very difficult but not impossible to come back from.
Are you still in this tie?
Even at 4-2, because of the quality of chances we were creating from our build moments, from our possession moments, even at 4-2, saying it's not the best result for us at all but we're still right in this at home at Stamford Bridge. The fifth goal, that's the painful, painful one. Yeah, it's something I really have to solve because we are very close, very close to being an outstanding team but we have to overcome this hurdle yesterday to make sure that happens.
You have a difficult decision with the goalkeepers. Do you fear you have one that's at a level to compete in this competition?
Yeah, both of them. They have different qualities. Rob is outstanding from crosses, an outstanding shot-stopper. I am trying to win in the short term and win in the long term as well. Filip has different qualities and one of his qualities, which he showed against Aston Villa, one of the reasons we won 4-1 at Aston Villa, we were so calm in our possession moments, which we weren't before, not just on Rob but on the whole team. Coming here against a really high-pressing team, if you stay calm and play through the initial pressure, you can cause a lot of problems, which we did. It's just painful that we've made that mistake in that moment to make the game 3-2 and now we are in a very, very difficult position in this tie now with the end result.
Your line-up was leaked in the French media this afternoon. Were you aware of that and what's your reaction?
No, I wasn't aware. I'm sure we'll get to the bottom of that if that's the case. These things now, they happen quite a lot. We get information about our opposition. I'm more worried about the end result than the beginning of the game.
You said that you need to be better. What specifically do you need to do?
I need us to maintain our calm in the moment when we have setbacks. This is on me. It's not a blame of the team. It's something that we've spoken about from my first day coming in, about reacting positively, about staying calm in depression moments and it's not happened. That's why it's on me. That's not pointing the finger of blame at the players. The intensity of our press, some of our football, some of the chances we created was outstanding. If we don't overcome this hurdle, we won't reach our potential and it's my job to find the answer to it.
The players seemed to collapse...
I think the fourth goal, we wouldn't say that if it wasn't for an inch of Enzo being offside from Joao Pedro's goal to make it 3-3. There was millimetres in it. Ultimately, the correct decision. But the fourth goal from Kvaratskhelia, that's an absolutely unbelievable strike. No goalkeeper in the world saves it. When you're in that moment, you have to remember it's a two-legged game. You have to maintain the calm with the chances we created and the moments we had. Even with two goals, the tie is still retrievable. Three behind now makes it very, very difficult.
PSG have a lot of dribblers, a lot of players that shoot from distance. Do they give you something different that you don't face in the Premier League so much?
In the Premier League, I don't have Dembele, Doue, Kvaratskhelia, or Vitinha or Joao Neves. They're an outstanding team. They're outstanding European champions. I think that's why I'm so disappointed because our performance up to the third goal was very, very good. It can't be spoken about now because of the end result. But we have to manage the moments better and actually remember the quality of players that we're playing up against.
How is Jorgensen?
I think the first thing, credit to him. He held his hands up in the dressing room. Mistakes happen. I make mistakes. Everybody makes mistakes. Sometimes they're more costly and more painful than other times. This is one of those moments. What we have to do for Rob and for Filip and for all of the players is look after each other. This is a big test of our character. We have a huge game in two days against Newcastle that we need to get back for. I want to see the real reaction, the resilience in the next game.
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