Liam Rosenior won his first game as Chelsea’s new head coach, beating Charlton 5-1 in the FA Cup third round.
In his pre-match press conference, the Blues boss urged fans to judge him on performances and results, and got off to a good start with victory at The Valley.
He opted for a youthful starting XI – as many Premier League teams do at this stage of the competition – and his team saw plenty of the ball and pressure around the Charlton area throughout the first half.
Addicks goalkeeper Will Mannion – making just his second appearance of the season – was worked too, but Charlton’s low block was a clear frustration for a Chelsea XI who love to show off their tricks.
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Jorrel Hato’s suptuous volley in first-half stoppage time put Chelsea 1-0 up at Charlton
It was going to take a moment of magic to make the breakthrough, and that’s exactly what happened in the fourth minute of first-half injury time. A Moises Caicedo cross was cleared kindly into Jorrel Hato’s path and his ferocious shot on a tight angle arrowed past the goalkeeper.
Chelsea added another five minutes after the break. Facundo Buonanotte sent in a wicked free-kick, which Tosin Adarabioyo nodded home.
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Tosin Adarabioyo headed in from a free-kick as Chelsea went 2-0 up early in the second half
But Charlton were not about to make life easy for Chelsea or Rosenior, and halved the deficit soon after, sending the fans into raptures. It came from a corner, with Lloyd Jones’ header rebounding into Miles Leaburn’s path. The Addicks academy graduate then fired home from close range.
But The Valley’s roar was quietened just after the hour as Chelsea restored their two-goal lead. Alejandro Garnacho – who took boos from the Charlton fans all evening – sped down the pitch before finding Buonanotte. His shot was weak but the parry from Mannion landed directly to Marc Guiu, who slotted home.
Charlton had a late penalty shout turned down as Enzo Fernandez appeared to go through the back of Lloyd Jones, but referee Chris Kavanagh waved away the claims. But after Pedro Neto turned home Chelsea’s fourth, the referee did award the Blues a late spot kick.
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Miles Leaburn (centre) pulled a goal back for Charlton at 2-1
Estevao was fouled as he tried to round Mannion, and Kavanagh pointed to the spot. With the last kick of the game, Fernandez powered his penalty into the back of the net to book Chelsea’s place in Monday’s fourth-round draw.
Despite a spirited performance from Charlton, their dismal run in the third round of the competition goes on, now exiting at this stage for a sixth successive season.
Rosenior: A good start
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Marc Guiu’s goal restored Chelsea’s two-goal lead over Charlton at 3-1
Chelsea head coach Liam Rosenior to TNT Sports: “A good start. Professional.
“I thought the first goal came at an important time in the game. Charlton stood up really well, they defended in a block which was difficult to break down.
“Jorrel was fantastic. I thought he was really good at Fulham, he deserved to play today. A strong performance from him.
“We scored a goal from a set-piece which always makes you happy. Then we concede, but I’ve said it from the start, the quality of my players – they’re outstanding. Strong start, something to build on, bring on Wednesday night.
“Goals change games, and that comes down to quality. We had control in the first half, but I don’t want just control. To get the goal was really good – but when Charlton score they want the second.
“It’s a cup tie, and they have to deal with me bringing on Estevao, Enzo Fernandez, Liam Delap, but I was delighted with the starting players. I thought Marc Guiu was good and deserved his goal – Jamie [Gittens} and Ale [Garnacho] were really good on the wings. It’s a strong start but nothing to get carried away about yet.
“It’s something that’s happened here already. I was delighted with Jorrel – he actually played as a No 10, he took his goal really well. I was delighted with Tosin and Big Ben at the back. I could go through the whole team really, but I was delighted with that.
“It’s a busy two months, but the last 48 hours I was really pleased. The lads have been really receptive. If we keep working like that I’m excited for the future.”
What did we learn from Rosenior’s first game?
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Liam Rosenior picked up an FA Cup third-round victory in his first match as Chelsea head coach
Analysis from Sky Sports’ Charlotte Marsh at The Valley and Noah Langford:
It was perhaps a bit of a false positive watching Liam Rosenior’s first Chelsea side, having made eight changes from defeat at Fulham and blooded a lot of his younger players.
Perhaps the biggest difference was the use of a back three, which was his preferred line-up at Strasbourg. In a season where jobs have hinged on the make-up of a defence, it will be interesting to see if he persists with it going forward or whether it’s a case of ‘sticking to what you know’ for the first game out.
With that being said, there certainly appeared to be more emphasis on using wingers than there has been in recent games.
Tosin was spraying passes to both all game, and Jamie Gittens and Garnacho felt more involved in comparison to games gone past.
There had been times too in the early exchanges were cute balls were attempted through the middle to try and find Guiu, but that soon came to an end when it proved ineffective.
But the youngsters certainly weren’t afraid to play directly at Charlton, even if it’s not the best way to try and beat a low block. Of course, the scoreline might say otherwise, but there was at least a sense of trying to make something happen.
When asked whether his team were close to where he wants them to be – with a wry smile – Rosenior responded: “I’m one game in. Some of our passes were beautiful to watch. We’ve got magnificent players.
“My idea of football is not important. It’s about winning games of football consistently. It’s a good start, but i’s just a start. We have to stay consistent now in a very, very hectic schedule.
“We are a good team. They’ve been well coached, I’ve made no secret of that.
“There are other elements to football other than tactics. Tactics are one element. Shape, systems, technique, they’re all wonderful things.
“But there are other things that I feel like maybe we can improve on. That’s what we’ll keep working on as well as the tactical side of the game.”
Ultimately, we will have a better idea of where he intends to take this Chelsea team when they face Arsenal in the midweek Carabao Cup semi-final first leg and Brentford in the Premier League on Saturday.
A good start from Rosenior but there’s plenty left to prove.
Jones disappointed with conceding ‘schoolboy’ goals
Charlton manager Nathan Jones: “For long periods, we competed really well. My biggest disappointment is just the second and third goals because, late on, they’re playing with the flourish and I think the fifth goal isn’t a pen, it’s a decision.
“The fourth goal, we’re a little bit open but the second and third goals kill us really and they’re schoolboy, they’re poor.
“We can’t concede from that type of set play and we do the work and it’s just too easy for them to get ahead of.
“The third goal really disappoints me because it’s stuff that we work on, we preach to them, we show them, we blow it up, we give them clear pictures about the edge of the box and how we defend counter-attacks and we don’t drop in and think that it’s a safe haven when we drop all the way into a box when people wait on the edge of the box.
“We’ve conceded from that in the past and that’s the frustration because at the time when we thought ‘can we have a rouse in’, we do something that costs us the game effectively.”