Liam Rosenior slams 'unacceptable' Chelsea display as Blues lose further ground on Liverpool

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The Blues head coach described the performance at Brighton as 'indefensible' and said his players must 'look at themselves in the mirror', with Chelsea's Champions League hopes looking increasingly fraught

Liam Rosenior slammed Chelsea's unacceptable performance in the defeat to Brighton

Liam Rosenior launched an extraordinary attack on his Chelsea players in the wake of Tuesday’s defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion, which saw the Blues lose further ground to Liverpool in the race for the top five.

Chelsea lost 3-0 at the Amex, extending its streak of Premier League defeats without scoring to five - the longest run since 1912, the same year the Titanic sank. But it’s Chelsea who is slowly descending, with Tuesday’s loss at the Amex seeing Brighton float above it in the table.

Incredibly, by the time Chelsea next plays in the league, it could even be as low as 14th. Whether Rosenior will still be in charge by then looks uncertain after another woeful display from the Club World Cup winners.

The Blues didn’t even produce a shot on target in a match where they were outfought and outbattled by a more determined Brighton.

“That was unacceptable,” Rosenior told Sky Sports after the match. “In every aspect of the game, that was unacceptable.

“I keep coming out and defending the players. That was indefensible, the performance tonight.

Chelsea lost to Brighton as it lost further ground in the race for the Champions League places

“The manner of the goals we conceded, the number of duels we lost, the lack of intensity in the team. Something needs to change drastically right now.

“We need to look in the mirror,” he continued. “I need to look in the mirror. I can’t keep coming out here defending some of the things we are seeing.

“The general attitude and spirit were lacking; the determination of maybe three or four out of the 11 [was acceptable]. That is nowhere near enough for this club. I can’t come out and lie. I’ll tell the truth; that was an unacceptable performance in every area.

“The performance in terms of professionalism wasn’t there. It was a really difficult night, the most difficult night for me at this magnificent football club and in my career. Some of the things that I witnessed, I never want to see again.”

Danny Welbeck's late third rubbed salt in the wounds for Chelsea

Rosenior said he has big decisions to make before Sunday’s FA Cup semi-final against Leeds United, and implied there may be wholesale changes.

“I’m hurting. I feel numb,” he added. “That doesn’t represent me. That doesn’t represent the football club in any way, and that has to change.”

As for Liverpool, a win on Saturday against Crystal Palace will open up a 10-point gap to Chelsea. However, it increasingly looks likely that the greatest challenge to the Reds’ Champions League place will come from elsewhere.

Victory this weekend would move Liverpool eight points clear of Brighton, while the gap to sixth place with four games remaining would be at least seven points.