CM
Liam Rosenior has called on Chelsea FC to eradicate costly defensive and disciplinary errors after their 2-1 defeat to Arsenal FC in the Premier League.
The Blues produced periods of encouraging football at the Emirates Stadium and were often the more proactive side, creating several of the game’s clearest opportunities.
But the contest ultimately turned on two goals conceded from corner kicks, with Arsenal defenders William Saliba and Jurrien Timber both finding the net from set-pieces.
Chelsea’s defensive vulnerability from dead-ball situations left Rosenior visibly frustrated, as he insisted such errors are undermining the team’s ambitions this season.
‘I think it’s clear where our strengths are and what we need to improve on.
‘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 sat her talking about how well we’ve played every week without picking up points.
‘It’s [the red card] is disappointing for Pedro because he’s a very, very good player and you want him on the pitch. Until that moment, he was actually causing Arsenal problems. The frustrating thing for us is that it’s not just today, but we’re going to miss him against Aston Villa.
‘It’s not just Pedro, though. 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. And the goals that we’re conceding, not just today, some of them are not acceptable at this level,’ Rosenior said in a post-match review on the EPL website.
The match also deepened Chelsea’s disciplinary concerns after the dismissal of winger Pedro Neto, who received two quick-fire yellow cards.
Rosenior admitted the sending-off was particularly damaging because Neto had been troubling the Arsenal defence before his exit, and the team will now be forced to face Aston Villa F.C. without him.
Arsenal’s dominance from set-pieces has been one of the league’s defining trends this season, with the Gunners scoring 16 goals from dead-ball situations — the joint-most by any team in a Premier League campaign.
However, Rosenior stressed that Chelsea must also take responsibility for their own lapses rather than focus solely on the opponent’s strengths.
He also said, ‘It’s a focus and concentration thing that we need to get right,’ he said. ‘We had ten games from when I came in where we didn’t have these issues, but now we’ve had two [red cards in two games, so there is something deep lying that we need to get to the bottom of.
‘The thing is for me, if we can get to the bottom of those two main things, we can be a very, very good team and achieve all the things we want to achieve.’
PUNCH Online reports that Chelsea have been sent off seven times in the Premier League this season — including the red card shown to Pedro Neto in the 2-1 loss to Arsenal FC — marking their seventh Premier League dismissal of the campaign.
Across all competitions, some reports suggest Chelsea have accumulated around nine red cards this season when including cup matches and non–league dismissals.
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