Chelsea: Has Liam Rosenior really made ‘clear change’ since replacing Enzo Maresca or are Blues still stuck in old ways? | Football News

Paul Merson believes Chelsea are still the same side as they were under Enzo Maresca, but head coach Liam Rosenior insists there has been a “clear change”.

Chelsea threw away a two-goal lead at Stamford Bridge to draw 2-2 with Leeds on Tuesday, missing the chance to earn a fifth consecutive Premier League victory and move into the top four above Manchester United.

It was the first time Rosenior dropped points in a league game, having won the previous four, with his only defeats coming in both matches of their two-legged Carabao Cup semi-final against Arsenal – but Merson reckons there has been little progress over the past month.

“Chelsea haven’t changed since Enzo Maresca was there,” said Sky Sports pundit Merson. “They cannot put a 90-minute performance together.

“They were brilliant in the first half [against Leeds], like the Harlem Globetrotters. Palmer, Pedro, Santos, Fernandez – the movement. But then all of a sudden, they haven’t got that experience.

“When it goes 2-1 and then 2-2, the next 15 minutes were wasted. They haven’t got anybody to say: ‘Calm down, we’ll get another chance.’

“It fell to Palmer, two yards out and he sidefooted it over the bar. There’s no bobble. It happens to the best. If you asked him to put that over the bar, he’d find it hard. It’s mind-blowing.

“All of a sudden, Chelsea have got some very difficult fixtures coming up. It’s going to be hard. It’s going to be a real fight. If Chelsea get into the Champions League positions with their run-in, I’ll hold my hands up and say, ‘fair play’.”

However, Rosenior reckons fifth-placed Chelsea have improved.

“I hope people can see the progression already, considering we’ve had 10 games in 30 days,” he said.

“It’s a clear change and no disrespect to anything that’s happened before. There’s a change in the things I like to see, but what I really want to see is three points on the board every week.

“Genuinely, I can’t remember Leeds having a shot or a moment in the game. Some of our football in possession, our press, our energy, was everything I wanted to see. That makes it even more of a bitter pill to swallow that we haven’t won the game.”

Chelsea were unable to regain control of the match after Lukas Nmecha pulled a goal back from the penalty spot and soon conceded an equaliser.

“We have to just make sure we take care of moments and be professional. I don’t think it’s about reacting to setbacks,” added Rosenior.

“You’re always going to have a spell in the game where you’re not on top. The ridiculous thing for us is that they’ve managed to score two goals in a five-minute period.”

Rosenior has won seven of his 10 games in charge with his side scoring 24 goals, including five against Charlton in the FA Cup, but they have kept only two clean sheets. There has been no shortage of entertainment, roaring back from 2-0 down to win 3-2 against West Ham in their last home game.

“We played some really good teams. Leeds are on a good run of form. They’re a very good team. We nullified everything and showed we could create chances with our possession, which is a really positive thing.

“It’s just a real shame that because of six minutes where we didn’t take care of two moments, I’m not talking about a really good team performance and a win.

“I don’t think it was a tactical or structural issue in this game. I just think we made poor decisions in key moments. I never, ever blame individuals. It’s a team moment.

“I was frustrated after the second goal with a couple of things that I’ll show the players of why the momentum of the game changed. That’s a team thing. If we can just focus and concentrate for 90 minutes, this team has unbelievable potential, which you saw for probably 90 per cent of the game today.

“I’m a month in. I feel like I already know what we need to work on to improve that. It’s making sure we get the time to do it.”