<figure id="attachment_3279943" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-3279943" style="width: 1600px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-3279943" src="https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/bf5890c5-liam-rosenior.jpg" alt="Liam Rosenior" width="1600" height="1000" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-3279943" class="wp-caption-text">Liam Rosenior’s side were on course for a fifth successive Premier League win before Leeds staged a late comeback to grab a draw. (EPA Images pic) </figcaption></figure>
LONDON: Liam Rosenior said Chelsea&#8217;s failure to stay calm under pressure was a &#8220;bitter pill&#8221; as they blew a two-goal advantage in their 2-2 draw with Leeds on Tuesday.
Rosenior&#8217;s side were on course for a fifth successive Premier League victory thanks to Joao Pedro&#8217;s opener and Cole Palmer&#8217;s penalty.
But Chelsea collapsed in the closing stages at Stamford Bridge, with Lukas Nmecha&#8217;s penalty giving Leeds a lifeline before Noah Okafor tapped in the equaliser.
The fifth-placed Blues&#8217; collapse cost them the chance to move above Manchester United into fourth place, leaving Rosenior to rue their careless defending.
&#8220;Two key moments in the game that we don&#8217;t take care of. We don&#8217;t stay calm. How the play gets there, we make a few poor decisions in the way we press and we give away a penalty,&#8221; he said.
&#8220;I can&#8217;t remember Leeds having a shot or a moment in the game. Some of our football in possession, our press and our energy was everything I wanted to see.
&#8220;That makes it even more of a bitter pill to swallow that we haven&#8217;t won the game.&#8221;
Leeds&#8217; equaliser owed as much to Jayden Bogle&#8217;s tenacity in outmuscling Chelsea&#8217;s defence as it did to the Blues&#8217; own hesitancy in dealing with the danger, though Rosenior believed his team should have had a free-kick.
&#8220;The lad handballs it,&#8221; he said. &#8220;It affects my players in that moment. They think it&#8217;s a handball, they switch off, we don&#8217;t clear the ball and they score. Then for 25 minutes it was wave after wave of attack.&#8221;
Rosenior has made an encouraging start to his reign since arriving from Strasbourg to replace Enzo Maresca in January.
But alongside their League Cup semi-final exit to Arsenal, this was another sign that the former Hull boss still has much to work on.
&#8220;We have to make sure we take care of moments and be professional,&#8221; Rosenior said.
&#8220;It&#8217;s not about reacting to setbacks. You&#8217;re always going to have a spell in the game when you&#8217;re not on top.
&#8220;The ridiculous thing for us is that they&#8217;ve managed to score two goals in a five-minute period when for the other 90 minutes we were by far the better team.&#8221;

MatchPoint Times

Chelsea’s draw with Leeds ‘bitter pill’ for Rosenior

Liam Rosenior rues careless defending as the Blues blew a two-goal advantage in their 2-2 draw with Leeds.

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