Liam Rosenior has said a lot of things about why he is the right man for the job since being appointed by Chelsea three weeks ago. A 3-2 win at Napoli will do a lot of the talking for him.
Was it a 90-minute display? No. Was it against a Napoli side at full strength? No. Is it still significant that Chelsea became only the second team to beat Napoli on their own pitch in their last 21 Champions League home games? Yes.
And, most importantly, are Chelsea in the last 16 of the Champions League? Yes.
These are very early days of Rosenior’s tenure and he will not be blind to the amount of improvement Chelsea still have to make. But there has been a lot of cynicism and negativity over him getting the job in some quarters. Some of his phrasing in press conferences has attracted the wrong kind of attention, too.
The best way to silence the doubters is by simply winning games. Rosenior has effectively said that himself from day one. He will not be getting carried away, but he could not have done much more than getting five victories from his first six fixtures. The 41-year-old’s only blemish was the 3-2 defeat to Arsenal in the first leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final. But he was without several key players that night, while goalkeeper Robert Sanchez gifted their opponents two goals.
Since beating Paris Saint-Germain in the FIFA Club World Cup final in July, Chelsea have not had many standout results away from home. Former head coach Enzo Maresca won seven out of 15 fixtures not played at Stamford Bridge this campaign before his exit on January 1. But no one would say the teams involved make up a magnificent seven. Four came in the Premier League against strugglers West Ham (18th), Nottingham Forest (17th), Tottenham (14th), and Burnley (19th). The others came in the Carabao Cup against League One Lincoln City, the Premier League’s bottom club Wolverhampton Wanderers, and Championship outfit Cardiff City.
Interim Calum McFarlane oversaw a credible draw at Manchester City before suffering a 2-1 loss at Fulham. Rosenior, for his part, already has three crucial away wins in as many competitions (Charlton Athletic in the FA Cup, Crystal Palace in the Premier League, and Napoli in the Champions League).
This is exactly what you need when you are trying to make a good first impression. There will inevitably be setbacks, but these results mean Rosenior can point to positives and the fact that there are foundations to build on.
But he is not naive. He will know the reviews of his tactical acumen would not have been great if they had failed to turn a 2-1 deficit around at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium. The decision to start with just one recognised centre-back in Wesley Fofana backfired, with three natural full-backs, Reece James, Malo Gusto and Marc Cucurella, making up the rest of the back four. But the introduction of Cole Palmer and Trevoh Chalobah (two of the five substitutes Chelsea made) in the second half helped change the game, although Joao Pedro deserves most of the credit for two wonderful finishes.
Joao Pedro scores Chelsea’s third goal (Tullio M. Puglia/Getty Images)
Not for the first time, Rosenior tried to downplay the importance of the moment for him personally and direct all the positive attention toward the players instead. He knows winning over the dressing room quickly after Maresca’s departure is vital.
“I said when I came in, they lost a manager that they really respected for reasons that are beyond my control or knowledge,” he told reporters. “So when you go through that as a young group, to come back and to accept a new manager the way they have done, and for them to work as hard as they have done for me, is a credit to them.
“It is not about me or my ego or trying to prove anything. I am trying to do the very best I can with my group, with my staff, and hopefully we can have more and more really good nights like this.
“I am here to win. That’s my job. It is not about where does it (the Napoli victory) rate in my career. I am not really fussed. I am already focused on West Ham on Saturday.”
The sight of Palmer interacting with Joao Pedro after the interval is a source of encouragement for everyone at Chelsea, not just Rosenior. The duo struck up an instant understanding at the FIFA Club World Cup, but Palmer’s injury issues have restricted him to just 14 appearances this season. As their combination for the winning goal showed, if Rosenior can get these two playing together regularly, there really will be good reason to be optimistic.
Cole Palmer returned for Chelsea at Napoli (Giuseppe Maffia/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Avoiding the play-offs also means a welcome end to the midweek-weekend schedule next month. Not counting the international breaks, Chelsea have had a clear week to rest or work on things fully in training only three times this season, and two of those came in August. Rosenior will have this gift twice in February now, including in the build-up to the league visit to Arsenal on March 1.
“In terms of our season, in terms of my time on the pitch with the players, that’s going to help us so much,” he added. “I have had no time. It is not an excuse; it is a fact. And I’m asking the players to press in a completely different way than they have done before and they’ve hardly had any practice at it. So that time will help us get better and improve, but we still need to win games in this moment.”
The month began with things looking rather bleak at Chelsea when Maresca left. As it draws to an end, Rosenior has been able to spark some fresh hope.