Chelsea win again as Rosenior says “They’re engaged”

Liam Rosenior’s early Chelsea spell kept moving in the right direction with a 3-1 Premier League win at Crystal Palace, a result that lifted the club back into fourth and added to a steadying run that followed the messy split with Enzo Maresca.

Chelsea arrived with pressure still hanging over the mid-season change. Maresca left four weeks ago after a falling out with club decision makers, and Rosenior, hired from sister club Strasbourg, was forced to watch the last league defeat, a 2-1 loss to Fulham, from the stands because the appointment came too late for him to take charge.

Since then, results have improved. Chelsea beat Charlton in the FA Cup, lost at home to Arsenal in the first leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final, then beat Brentford, Pafos in the Champions League, and now Palace. The Palace win came via goals from Estevao Willian, Joao Pedro and Enzo Fernandez.

Rosenior played down any emotion about the bounce in league form, saying: “I’m not thinking about being relieved or how I’m feeling. I’m just focused on the job. That’s really, really important. We’ve got another huge game on Wednesday.”

Chelsea’s schedule stays heavy, with a Champions League trip to Napoli next, then West Ham at Stamford Bridge on Saturday. With limited training time and two matches a week stretching on, the team has not been reworked stylistically. Chelsea still lean on patient possession, a high press, and a cautious rest defence to limit counterattacks, but their set-piece defending remains a live issue, with all five goals conceded since Rosenior arrived coming from dead-ball situations.

At Selhurst Park, Rosenior did tweak the structure to handle Oliver Glasner’s 3-4-3 shape, and he framed it as a quick turnaround from the players.

“I think today was a huge test. I changed the shape of the play. It’s hard to explain it’s like a semi-four or semi-five at the back with Andrey [Santos] in between,” Rosenior said.

“For them to go and put on, from a tactical point of view, the performance that they did in two days makes me very pleased, because pretty much 95% of the press and 95% of the positioning was absolutely perfect. They’re engaged.

“I think they’re believing in what they’re doing. It’s one game. We have to make sure we’re consistent in every game we play.”

There was also a visible shift in the mood around the away end. Rosenior shared a warm exchange with some travelling supporters after full-time, with chants aimed in his direction, though anti-ownership songs were still heard, as they have been regularly, especially on the road.

Asked about the early reception from fans, Rosenior said: “I hope so. I’m very happy to be here. It’s a fantastic club with fantastic supporters.

“As I said, it’s two way. I have to earn that I’m aware of that. Not just me, but my staff, the players, the team, in our performances. And I hope that over time we’ll see that something good may happen here.”

Chelsea’s hierarchy has set Champions League qualification as the minimum target, and in Maresca’s exit statement, the club said a change was needed to give “the team the best chance of getting the season back on track”. For now, Rosenior’s results have done exactly that, with the harder tests coming next.