Has Rosenior made his goalkeeping problem worse?
There has been increased scrutiny of Chelsea head coach Liam Rosenior, with his decision not to name a first-choice goalkeeper chief among the criticism he now faces. Before the Englishman's appointment in January, Robert Sanchez had been former boss Enzo Maresca's undisputed first choice for almost his entire 18‑month tenure. However, Sanchez has been in rotation with understudy Filip Jorgensen since his poor display in a 2-1 defeat at Arsenal.
The promoted Dane, 23, produced a steady performance in a win at Aston Villa , but a sloppy pass in his second outing led to Paris St-Germain's third goal as Chelsea 's Champions League hopes collapsed in a 5-2 defeat at Parc des Princes. Since then, Jorgensen has suffered a groin issue, prompting Sanchez's return and resulting in five goalkeeper changes across six matches. The situation has repeatedly raised questions over whether rotating goalkeepers is helpful - while a range of other issues have emerged under Rosenior.
These include selecting Mamadou Sarr, whose early error in Wednesday's 3-0 second-leg defeat by PSG proved costly, out of position at right‑back. Meanwhile, the management of the captain‑led pre‑kick‑off huddle in the 1-0 home loss to Newcastle drew ridicule and frustrated officials, and Rosenior's side have appeared increasingly open defensively during their run of three straight defeats. Sanchez disappointed but Rosenior wants competition Sanchez can argue he was unfortunate to lose his place, having been in strong form at the end of last season - a run that helped Chelsea qualify for the Champions League and win the Club World Cup.
Chelsea were offered AC Milan's Mike Maignan in the summer but felt he was overpriced, with only one year left on his contract, and unlikely to improve the goalkeeping department to a significant degree, particularly given Sanchez's stable form at the time. That decision looked justified for much of the season as Sanchez continued to perform well under Maresca. However, Rosenior's arrival coincided with Sanchez's poorest display of the campaign: a 3-2 defeat by Arsenal in the first leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final, where he failed to cut out crosses from a corner and open play for the opening two goals.
Questions were raised over whether Rosenior - who positioned Chelsea loanee goalkeeper Mike Penders exceptionally high when building from the back at his former club Strasbourg - was unsettling Sanchez with his new approach. "It's nothing to do with Rob's build, or the way that we played," Rosenior said. Although he has not yet adopted such an extreme approach at Chelsea , Rosenior has encouraged shorter passing from the back in certain matches - something that suits Jorgensen more than Sanchez.