Liam Rosenior responds to calls to replace two Chelsea players after PSG defeat
Liam Rosenior has responded to calls to replace error-prone goalkeepers Robert Sanchez and Filip Jorgensen after Chelsea’s Champions League defeat to PSG.
Chelsea’s Champions League hopes are hanging by a thread after the Blues were beaten 5-2 by holders PSG in the first leg of their last-16 tie.
The game was level at 2-2 heading into the final half an hour after Chelsea twice came from behind, Malo Gusto and Enzo Fernandez cancelling out goals from Bradley Barcola and Ousmane Dembele.
But a costly error from Jorgensen saw Vitinha restore PSG’s lead and spark a late collapse from Chelsea who conceded twice more late on through impressive substitute Khvicha Kvaratskhelia.
Chelsea beat PSG in last summer’s Club World Cup final but now look set to be eliminated by the Champions League holders, having to overturn a three-goal deficit in next week’s return leg at Stamford Bridge.
Sanchez has been Chelsea’s No. 1 for most of the season but was dropped by Rosenior after his poor performance in the London derby defeat to Arsenal at the start of the month.
Jorgensen has already made a costly mistake since coming into the side, however, and Jamie Carragher warned Chelsea after the PSG defeat that they would not win another major trophy until they sign a new goalkeeper.
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‘It was a brilliant game, I think the best game certainly I’ve seen in the Champions League this season,’ Carragher told CBS Sports.
‘Chelsea didn’t deserve to lose 5-2 but they’ve only got themselves to blame for that.
‘I’ve been critical of Chelsea for a long time, but I’m being deadly serious, they can’t go any further until they sort the goalkeeping issue out. I’ve been saying this consistently.
‘The new ownership have come in and spent absolute billions and right now they’ve got some great players in the team and I think in these early stages Liam Rosenior has been brilliant.
‘I thought Rosenior as a manager tonight, looking at how he set the team up, caused PSG real problems, they didn’t deserve to lose as in the way the game was set up and how they played.
‘But big mistakes cost them at centre-back and goalkeeper and that has been an issue and will continue to be an issue for any Chelsea manager going forward when they’re trying to win the Premier League and Champions League because they’re a million miles off it.
‘That’s why they lost tonight, not because they haven’t got great attacking players or the manager knows what he’s doing, tactically they were fantastic tonight.
‘They were let down by a mistake from the goalkeeper at 2-2 and then the game just completely unravelled and now all of a sudden it looks like they’ve got no chance of going through.’
The goalkeeper situation at Chelsea has been an issue for a long time but Rosenior claimed both Sanchez and Jorgensen were at the required level after his side’s heavy defeat in Paris.
Asked whether he believes either goalkeeper were ‘at the level’ to play in the Champions League, Rosenior – who replaced Enzo Maresca at Chelsea in January – said: ‘Yeah, both of them.
‘They have different qualities. Rob is outstanding from crosses, an outstanding shot-stopper. I am trying to win in the short term and win in the long term as well.
‘Filip has different qualities and one of his qualities, which he showed against Aston Villa, one of the reasons we won 4-1 at Aston Villa, we were so calm in our possession moments, which we weren’t before, not just on Rob but on the whole team.
‘Coming here against a really high-pressing team, if you stay calm and play through the initial pressure, you can cause a lot of problems, which we did.
‘It’s just painful that we’ve made that mistake in that moment to make the game 3-2 and now we are in a very, very difficult position in this tie now with the end result.’
Discussing Jorgensen’s error, Rosenior added: ‘Players make mistakes. Filip’s not the first one to make a mistake. That’s part of football.
‘Obviously, it’s bitter… in that moment, at 2-2, I think we were in the ascendancy. We were an inch away from going even to 3-3. I think Joao Pedro’s goal was like an inch offside.
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‘But in the top level, in the Champions League level, it is fine margins. And the fifth goal was the most painful one, we don’t settle ourselves down.
‘We don’t deal with the basic pattern of play. They score a fifth goal and make the tie very difficult for us.’
Rosenior also revealed Jorgensen ‘held his hands up in the dressing room’ after the match.
‘I think the first thing, credit to him,’ Rosenior said. ‘He held his hands up in the dressing room. Mistakes happen. I make mistakes. Everybody makes mistakes.
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‘Sometimes they’re more costly and more painful than other times. This is one of those moments.
‘What we have to do for Rob and for Filip and for all of the players is look after each other. This is a big test of our character.
‘We have a huge game in two days against Newcastle that we need to get back for. I want to see the real reaction, the resilience in the next game.’
Chelsea, currently fifth in the Premier League, face fellow Champions League hopefuls Newcastle on Saturday while Ligue 1 leaders PSG have the weekend off.
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Article source: https://metro.co.uk/2026/03/12/liam-rosenior-responds-calls-replace-two-chelsea-players-psg-defeat-27378346/