LONDON
\nLiam Rosenior admitted Chelsea paid the price for costly mistakes after Arsenal took advantage of his side\u2019s blunders to win 3-2 in the League Cup semifinal first leg on Wednesday. Rosenior\u2019s team face a tough task to set up a final against either Manchester City or Newcastle following their error-strewn display in their new manager\u2019s first home match.
\nChelsea were guilty of sloppy marking for Ben White\u2019s early headed opener before goalkeeper Robert Sanchez gifted striker Viktor Gyokeres Arsenal\u2019s second goal after half-time.Alejandro Garnacho got one back for Chelsea but Martin Zubimendi then netted for Arsenal after more lacklustre defending from Rosenior\u2019s men.
\nSubstitute Garnacho\u2019s second goal gave Chelsea a glimmer of hope heading into the second leg at the Emirates Stadium in February. \u201cDisappointed to concede from a corner. Disappointed with the third goal as well because we were right back in the game and we were on top at that moment,\u201d Rosenior said. \u201cWe switched off from a restart from a central free-kick but I can\u2019t fault the players.
\n\u201cWe need to make sure we perform well individually and we don\u2019t concede as many goals.\u201d Rosenior was without a host of key players, including Cole Palmer, Reece James and Liam Delap, due to injuries and illness.In his second game since replacing Enzo Maresca as Blues boss, the 41-year-old took heart from the way Chelsea kept fighting to find a way back into the tie.
\n\u201cWe\u2019ve had illness in the squad, we\u2019ve picked up a few knocks this week but what the squad has shown is that they are willing to run and fight for each other,\u201d he said. Rosenior, who oversaw a 5-1 FA Cup third-round win at Charlton in his debut last weekend, refused to condemn Sanchez for the latest in a long line of shaky performances. \u201cRob\u2019s a very good goalkeeper.
\nHe made an outstanding save at 3-1 to keep us in the tie, so for me load of things to improve but the overall attitude of the team I liked,\u201d Rosenior said.
\n\u201cHopefully, we get a few bodies back for Brentford on Saturday. \u201dArsenal are now unbeaten in 10 games in all competitions as they moved a step closer to their first silverware since the 2020 FA Cup. The Gunners had lost their previous four semifinals across a variety of competitions, including the League Cup last year.Mikel Arteta was impressed with Arsenal\u2019s ability to subdue Chelsea for long periods, but he was left to rue their failure to kill off their London rivals.
\n\u201cI have to praise the players for the performance against a really good opponents. It\u2019s a really tough place to come. That\u2019s why I really value what the team has done again,\u201d Arteta said.\u201cWe had two massive chances to score the fourth one and the result would have been very different. At that moment they created a chance and scored a goal. So it is a very different feeling. It\u2019s game on.\u201d
\nAs well as leading the Premier League, Arsenal are also still chasing Champions League and FA Cup glory. But after so many last-four failures in the recent past, Arteta won\u2019t take anything for granted. \u201cIt\u2019s another step. It\u2019s just half-time. We know the big fight we are going to have at the Emirates in a few weeks because they are a top side,\u201d he said. \u201cWhat we\u2019re doing every three days is impressive.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
LONDON Liam Rosenior admitted Chelsea paid the price for costly mistakes after Arsenal took advantage of his side\u2019s blunders to win 3-2 in the League Cup semifinal first leg on Wednesday. Rosenior\u2019s team face a tough task to set up a final against either Manchester City or Newcastle following their error-strewn display in their new […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-525891","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n