Chelsea took a conservative approach to recovering from a 3-2 deficit in their Carabao Cup semi-final second leg, one which did not pay off
Liam Rosenior says “it’s easy” to be a pundit as he hit back at Paul Merson’s stinging criticism of Chelsea’s lacklustre approach to their Carabao Cup semi-final second leg with Arsenal.
Merson said he was “flabbergasted” by how Rosenior’s side took to overturning their 3-2 first-leg deficit at the Emirates, with the Blues putting in a conservative display that hardly saw them threaten Kepa Arrizabalaga’s goal.
“I can't believe what I've just watched,” Arsenal legend Merson said on Sky Sports at full-time. “Chelsea aren't a bottom-five team. They have World Cup winners.
"[Wesley] Fofana is crying. He should be crying because they never had a go. They've gone out with a whimper in a semi-final. It hasn't worked. Go out in a blaze of glory, don't go out like that.
"They played in second gear. This is the semi-final of a cup. Chelsea have got the players to mix it with Arsenal. And they didn't have a go.”
Chelsea ended up losing 4-2 on aggregate with former Blues player Kai Havertz striking in the 97th minute to seal Arsenal’s place at Wembley - a first final in six years for Mikel Arteta.
And after coming under fire for his gameplan, Rosenior has responded to Merson’s comments by saying: “I’ve been a pundit, it’s easy. It’s easy in hindsight.
“In hindsight, so if I go and attack the game, press really high, and we concede two goals early, everyone says ‘what’s he doing?’ That’s the reality of my job.
“The reality of my job is if you lose games, you’ll be criticised. If you win, you’re a genius. It’s normally somewhere in between that.”
Chelsea had 14 shots on Kepa’s goal but were unable to create clear-cut chances, with just two hitting the target.
They ended the contest with an xG of just 0.68, meaning they would have over-performed had they got the all-important goal to force the contest to extra time.
"I cannot fault the application, intensity or the fight of the players,” Rosenior added, who saw a five-game winning run come to an end.
"What we need to do is remember this is the start and I'm really, really happy with a lot of things I'm seeing.
"You want to get the results, but we need to make sure we rest and recover and we keep improving as we go."
Category: General Sports
