On the pitch, Anthony Gordon’s early strike was enough to separate the sides. Rosenior lamented the tactical lapse that led to the goal, suggesting his team is still adapting to a high-risk, high-reward pressing system that can be punished by clinical opposition like the Magpies.
“It feels like every mistake we’re making is ending up in the back of the net. First 15-20 minutes, we had chances. The goal gave Newcastle energy. We lacked a bit of mental freshness in the final third and the second thing is we need to make sure, if we’re not going to score then the other team don’t score. It’s disappointing we didn’t keep a clean sheet when they didn’t create much.”
The defeat sparked a negative reaction from the Stamford Bridge faithful, who booed the team at various intervals. Despite the result, Rosenior was keen to put the current form into perspective: “From my time with the group, we’re third in the league. Sometimes it feels like that’s not the case. The last league game we played, we lost 4-1 at Aston Villa.”