Liam Rosenior only has himself to blame for Chelsea’s final-third struggles in Newcastle loss

Liam Rosenior must take responsibility for Chelsea’s disappointing defeat to Newcastle on Saturday evening.

Chelsea had 21 shots to Newcastle’s six, but the statistics do not tell the full story of the match at Stamford Bridge.

The Blues struggled to break down the Magpies’ defence and only deserved to take a point, at best, from the game.

Rosenior pointed to a “mental” problem in his post-match press conference, but his team selection was to blame for it.

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Where does he go from here?

Liam Rosenior needed to freshen things up against Newcastle

Rosenior only made two changes to his last starting XI against Paris Saint-Germain: Robert Sanchez and Alejandro Garnacho.

The Englishman decided to keep nine of the 10 outfield players the same – a decision that turned out to be a mistake.

“Credit to Newcastle and Eddie [Howe] because they defended their lead, and they were happy to sit back,” Rosenior told Sky Sports after the game.

“We didn’t have that mental freshness to unlock them, which has ultimately cost us the game today.”

Well, perhaps Chelsea’s well-rested substitutes would have offered more “mental freshness” than those who played against PSG.

Romeo Lavia would have certainly offered more energy than Enzo Fernandez, who looked fatigued in midfield.

Thoughts?

Likewise, it was an ideal opportunity to give Liam Delap a chance to prove himself, as Joao Pedro also looked out of sorts.

Meanwhile, Jesse Derry, who was not even named on the bench, and Marc Guiu could have provided a spark in the second half.

Rosenior has consistently rotated players throughout his tenure, so his lack of changes came as a big surprise.

Now, having played his strongest available team twice in a row, it will be very interesting to see what he does in the second leg against PSG.