Liam Rosenior stood by his cautious approach after Chelsea couldn’t overturn their first-leg deficit against Arsenal in the Carabao Cup semi-final.

Down 3-2 from the first match, Chelsea never really put Arsenal under pressure at the Emirates. In the end, Kai Havertz—of all people—put the game to bed in stoppage time, scoring against his old club.

Rosenior switched things up, going with a back three and playing it safe. He wanted to keep the game close and try to push hard late on. He brought on Cole Palmer and Estevao around the 60th minute, hoping for a spark, but Chelsea still couldn’t carve out real chances. Arsenal just wouldn’t budge.

Pundits didn’t love Rosenior’s tactics and let him know it. He brushed it off. “I’ve been a pundit. It’s easy. It’s easy in hindsight,” he said. “If I go all-out and press high, we could give away two early goals, and then everyone asks what I’m thinking. That’s just how it is. Lose, and you’re hammered. Win, and you’re a genius. Usually, it’s somewhere in the middle.”

Chelsea were up against the league leaders, and with both Reece James and Pedro Neto missing due to minor injuries, Rosenior planned to hang in there and try to frustrate Arsenal—and maybe turn the mood in the stadium.

“That was the idea. You saw it,” he said. “I thought the psychological side of the tie mattered, and you could feel it in the stadium too. At 60 minutes, I brought on Cole and Estevao, and suddenly we had some moments around the box. I think people sensed this game could flip.”

It didn’t happen, though. Rosenior said he couldn’t fault his players for their effort, and in the end, Arsenal’s clinching goal came while Chelsea were throwing everything forward, desperate to turn things around.

Chelsea’s wild 3-2 win over West Ham turned ugly in stoppage time, when a massive brawl erupted. Jean-Clair Todibo lost his head and grabbed Chelsea’s Joao Pedro by the throat, earning himself a straight red card as tempers exploded at Stamford Bridge.

VAR dragged things out for ages, but eventually referee Anthony Taylor jogged over to the monitor. The crowd didn’t have to wait long—Taylor ruled Todibo out for violent conduct and made it clear to everyone in the stadium.

The whole mess kicked off when Pedro, who’d sparked Chelsea’s comeback after they trailed 2-0 at halftime, shoved Adama Traore. Traore and Marc Cucurella were already tangled up, and suddenly both teams were piling in. Todibo went right for Palmer’s neck. Gary Neville, watching for Sky Sports, didn’t hold back: “At one point he’s got hold of his neck, and he looks like he’s trying to eat him.” Stamford Bridge just exploded when Todibo finally got sent off.

West Ham still had one last corner, but Chelsea dealt with it without any fuss and held on for all three points. Enzo Fernandez sealed the turnaround with a clutch finish in the 92nd minute.

It hadn’t started well for Chelsea. Jarrod Bowen put West Ham in front early, and things went from bad to worse when Crysencio Summerville doubled the lead before the break.

But Liam Rosenior threw on three subs at halftime, and they flipped the game. Pedro pulled one back, Cucurella tied it up, and West Ham’s best chance to win it fell to Todibo, who missed a sitter. Then, deep in stoppage time, Pedro tore down the right and set up Fernandez, who smashed the winner past Areola.

A huge win for Chelsea—they’re back up to fourth in the Premier League, but that first half was painful.

“Sometimes this happens, but we have a strong squad,” Pedro told Sky Sports after the match. “We showed we can do it. Now we look forward and keep going.

“We know what we’re capable of. It’s another special day. This team is so young, but we all trust each other—that’s our strength. We can get even better, but tonight was important to show the fans just how strong we are.”

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