Liam Rosenior names Chelsea’s problem after Man City loss and says he’s to blame

Liam Rosenior has declared himself accountable after his Chelsea side once again wilted badly after conceding a goal in the 3-0 defeat to Manchester City.

The Blues were heavily beaten at home by Pep Guardiola’s men on Sunday afternoon, making it three league defeats on the spin.

Chelsea’s hopes of qualifying for next season’s Champions League remain alive, but they must improve as they sit sixth, four points adrift of Liverpool in fifth, and just one point ahead of Brentford and Everton below them.

It is not the first convincing loss for Rosenior’s side of late, having lost 3-0 at Everton and both 3-0 and 5-2 to PSG in the Champions League last month.

The west Londoners were in the match with the game goalless at half-time but City came out firing after the break and scored three goals in 17 minutes from Nico O’Reilly’s opener to Jeremy Doku’s third.

Rosenior accepts that his team are fragile when they go behind, taking the blame for that frailty and saying it is something he must fix soon.

‘Not good enough in the second half,’ he told Sky Sports. ‘We didn’t start the half well, we had moments to clear the box and didn’t. We had the moment to keep the ball and didn’t. They were camped in our half for the first five minutes, where we concede a goal. Great cross and great header.

‘Then it’s a similar story for the past month now in terms of dealing with setbacks. When you go a goal down against a team as good as this, what you have to do for the next five minutes is stay in the game.

‘I’m accountable. This is a group that something we have to improve at. It starts on the training pitch, your habits and values. We’ve already spoken about these things.

‘I can’t say there was a lack of effort, especially in the first half. There was a lack of confidence in the second half, we started losing the ball more easily. We have to improve because at the moment, we’re in a difficult place and have another big game next week.’

Asked in his post-match press conference about how to fix the issue and whether it is something he can do before the end of this season, the boss was clear that it is a problem that must be cured imminently.

‘I have to, I have to,’ he said of remedying the issue. ‘Right now we’re still in the race for the Champions League, we still have the possibility to win the FA Cup. I have to change it now.

‘I’m not a manager that hides behind maybe needing to do something with other players in the transfer market. I have to change it now, that’s why I’m here.

‘It’s something we have to address because its happened too many times where we’ve been in games with top teams. First half I thought we were very, very good today, same against PSG for 75 minutes, but we concede and the cards start to fold.’

While Rosenior was frustrated, Guardiola was understandably purring as his team kept their Premier League title hopes alive with the win.

They are now six points behind Arsenal at the top of the table, but with a game in hand and with the Gunners going to the Etihad next Sunday.

‘I was happy. Winning away in a Premier League ground like Stamford Bridge, the fans are happy. We are happier,’ he told Sky Sports.

‘Second half was a thousand times much better. It was not bad the first half, but some players were not as they were meant to be.

‘We attacked a little bit on the left side, but the right side they just played to our threat. The second half was better on both sides.’