Chelsea manager Liam Rosenior has urged his team to address costly defensive lapses and improve discipline following their 2–1 defeat to Arsenal FC in the Premier League.
Despite producing spells of impressive football at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday, Chelsea were undone by two set-piece goals from Arsenal defenders William Saliba and Jurrien Timber.
The Blues created several promising opportunities and were often the more proactive side during the encounter. However, defensive vulnerability from corner kicks proved decisive, leaving Rosenior frustrated after the match.
“I think it’s clear where our strengths are and what we need to improve on,” the Chelsea manager said in his post-match review on the league’s official platform.
“We conceded two goals from set-plays, which has ultimately cost us the game, and it’s really disappointing to have another red card.
“These are things we’ve spoken about because there is a lot of good in our play, but I don’t want to be sitting here talking about how well we’ve played every week without picking up points,” he added.
Chelsea’s problems were compounded when winger Pedro Neto was sent off after receiving two quick yellow cards, further deepening the club’s disciplinary concerns.
Rosenior admitted the dismissal was particularly frustrating because Neto had been posing a threat to the Arsenal defence before his exit.
“It’s disappointing for Pedro because he’s a very good player and you want him on the pitch. Until that moment, he was causing Arsenal problems. The frustrating thing for us is that we’re now going to miss him against Aston Villa F.C.,” he said.
The manager also stressed that responsibility for such lapses must be shared across the team and coaching staff.
“It’s not just Pedro. As a group, and me as the leader, we have to take more accountability for some of the decision-making in terms of our discipline. The goals we’re conceding, not just today, some of them are not acceptable at this level,” Rosenior said.
Arsenal’s efficiency from dead-ball situations has been a major feature of their campaign this season, with the North London club scoring 16 league goals from corners and other set-pieces — among the highest totals in the competition.
Nevertheless, Rosenior insisted Chelsea must concentrate on correcting their own shortcomings rather than focusing on the opponent’s strengths.
“It’s a focus and concentration issue that we need to get right. We had ten games when I first came in where we didn’t have these problems, but now we’ve had two red cards in two games, so there is something deeper that we need to address,” he explained.
“If we can resolve those two main issues, we can become a very good team and achieve the things we want to achieve,” he added.
Reports indicate that Chelsea have now received seven red cards in the Premier League this season, including Neto’s dismissal against Arsenal. Across all competitions, the number is believed to be around nine when cup matches are included.
