Liam Rosenior ready to change Chelsea team selection after disastrous defensive record
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Chelsea head coach Liam Rosenior admits that he would change the way he picks his team after the team's recent poor defensive record.
The Blues conceded eight goals in the two-legged round of 16 tie defeat to Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League.
Overall, Chelsea have only kept one clean sheet in their last 14 games in all competitions, and it was against Championship side Hull City in the FA Cup, conceding 24 goals in this period.
Rosenior is unsurprisingly not happy about the situation to the point that he would change the way he set up his team going forward.
"So far in my time, it's been moments," the Chelsea head coach told the club's in-house media team after the second-leg defeat to PSG.
"Moments from a set-play or moments of lapses of concentration, not an overall team performance.
"I need to pick teams that don't reflect that.
"We haven't kept enough clean sheets, and that's something we have to address moving forward to get to where I know this team and this club can be."
That said, due to the recent injury blows, the change in Chelsea's defensive line would have happened regardless.
Trevoh Chalobah picked up an ankle injury that forced him to leave the pitch on a stretcher in the second-leg defeat to PSG, and he has played more minutes at Chelsea this season.
Reece James could be out for weeks due to a hamstring injury, while Malo Gusto missed PSG's visit to Stamford Bridge due to illness.
Goalkeeper Filip Jorgensen, on the other hand, is nursing a groin injury.
Rosenior could opt to use a back-three system more often, and Chelsea clearly have enough centre-backs for it, but the formation has not proved to be reliable when used on a few occasions in recent weeks.
Gerry Crisandy is a freelance writer who has covered Chelsea for many years. His work has been published on The Chelsea Chronicle and Pride of London. He grew up idolising Michael Ballack and is a firm believer in expected goals.