Liam Rosenior cut a hugely frustrated figure after his Chelsea side lost at home to Newcastle United in the Premier League on Saturday evening.
The Blues suffered their second defeat in the space of four days as Anthony Gordon scored the only goal of the game. It’s the first time the Magpies have won at Stamford Bridge in six years.
After the final whistle, Rosenior said his players lacked “mental freshness” following their 5-2 defeat to PSG in midweek and are not ruthless enough in the final third.
Rosenior admits Chelsea lack cutting edge and mental freshness
“It’s frustration,” he told Sky Sports. “First 15, 20 minutes we dominated the game, wave of attacking intent. But we concede a really poor goal after switching off on a press. They play a straight pass through the middle of the pitch and they go one nil up; it gives them something to hold onto. Then the rest of the game was attack versus defence.
“Credit to Newcastle and Eddie Howe, because they defended their lead and they were happy to sit back. We didn’t have that mental freshness to unlock them, which is what ultimately cost us the game today.
“We got into the final third many times, but without having that real cutting edge. We created chances but weren’t ruthless enough to take them.
“Every time the ball bounced in the box, it just fell behind one of our players or they would just get a block on. We had chances, but overall, there was a lack of cutting edge, and that’s something we need to improve.”
Chelsea now face a short turnaround with the return leg against PSG coming up on Tuesday.
“We’re in tomorrow,” Rosenior added. “We need to make sure that they’re physically prepared. We need to pick a team that can go against PSG and play with room intensity and energy, first and foremost because they’re an outstanding team.
“Football’s amazing, isn’t it? Up until 15 minutes to go in PSG and after the performance at Aston Villa, winning in the FA Cup with a changed team, everything was looking good.
“Things aren’t always as great as you think, and they’re not always as terrible when you’re going through a difficult time. There’s a consistency in our performance, but at the moment in the last two games, we haven’t managed to take advantage of the moments or the margins.”
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