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EMOTIONAL RETURN: LIAM ROSENIOR HEADS BACK TO HULL CITY FOR FA CUP CLASH

Liam Rosenior returns to Hull City with Chelsea! Discover the emotional family story and tactical fixes ahead of the FA Cup.

Emotional Return: Liam Rosenior heads back to Hull City for FA Cup clash
Chelsea’s trip to Hull means everything to Liam Rosenior

Liam Rosenior is about to make an emotional trip back to Hull, and honestly, it means a lot more to him than just another match. He opened up about his late grandmother, Nanny Cath, who absolutely loved the club. She was a season-ticket holder, and Rosenior played and managed there himself; it’s all pretty close to his heart.

Chelsea kick off the FA Cup fourth round this weekend at Hull’s MKM Stadium, and Rosenior can’t shake the feeling that Nanny Cath had something to do with this draw. She’s buried less than a mile from Hull’s training ground. The whole Rosenior family is coming together for the game in Yorkshire, which doesn’t happen often.

Chelsea’s head coach wants to steer clear of an FA Cup upset, but for Rosenior, this tie is special. He talked about the first time he joined Hull: “I went there on trial, no contract, nothing. I took Nanny Cath to the local Harvester, sat her down, and told her, ‘I’m going to sign for Hull City.’ She was already a season ticket holder, so she was thrilled. Sadly, she passed away, and now she’s buried just down the road from where the team trains. When I took the Hull job, it was almost exactly a year after her funeral. You can tell this club really matters to me; I get emotional just talking about it.”

He swears there’s something else at play, maybe a little bit of help from above. “I used to visit Hull every summer as a kid, when she lived there. I went to Boothferry Park to watch games. Strangely, I’m from London, but I feel this pull to Hull. Plus, Hull is twinned with Freetown, and I’m from Sierra Leone. There are all these weird connections.”

For him and his family, this weekend is a big deal. They’ll all get together Friday night, which is rare since they live so far apart. Still, Rosenior says he’s locked in on the match and ready to give everything.

It’s a full-circle moment for him. Back in 2014, Rosenior played in the FA Cup final with Hull, only to lose 3-2 to Arsenal after extra time. Mikel Arteta was the Arsenal captain that day. “I went from being on trial at Hull to captaining them in Europe and playing in an FA Cup final. Those are the memories you want, and that’s what I want to build at Chelsea now.”

But he’s also got work to do. After Chelsea blew a 2-0 lead against Leeds and ended up drawing 2-2, Rosenior pulled the squad together the next morning at Cobham. He made them watch clips from the game, including the two goals they let in after some pretty shaky defending.

“It wasn’t just the two mistakes,” he said. “We talked about things like how we manage the game after we score and what that should look like.”

Rosenior’s determined to get things right, and he’s not wasting time. “My job is to make this team as good as possible, as fast as possible. We had a good meeting to clear things up. In football, mistakes happen. That’s just part of it. What frustrated me was that there was so much good stuff in that game, but now we’re all talking about the mistakes. The players need to know that, so next time we play like that, we’re celebrating three points instead.”

LIAM ROSENIOR SLAMS "RIDICULOUS" MOISES CAICEDO MISTAKE IN LEEDS 2-2 DRAW

Liam Rosenior criticized Moises Caicedo's "bad decision" as Chelsea threw away a 2-0 lead against Leeds. Read the full reaction.

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Rosenior singles out Moises Caicedo after Chelsea's late draw

Liam Rosenior didn’t hold back after Chelsea’s frustrating 2-2 draw with Leeds United, and he had some pointed words for Moises Caicedo.

For a while, things looked good for Chelsea. They were cruising; Joao Pedro scored in the first half, and Cole Palmer added a penalty after the break. At 2-0, it felt like they’d continue their perfect run under Rosenior.

But then it unravelled. Caicedo tripped Jayden Bogle in the box, handing Leeds a penalty. Lukas Nmecha converted, and just minutes later, Noah Okafor took advantage of a messy Chelsea mix-up to equalise. Two goals in six minutes, and just like that, Chelsea’s lead vanished.

A win would’ve pushed Chelsea ahead of Manchester United into the top four, but now they’re stuck in fifth, deflated and frustrated.

Rosenior called the whole thing “ridiculous”. Chelsea dominated most of the game, and Palmer even missed a sitter late on that could’ve sealed it. In the press conference, Rosenior didn’t sugarcoat things.

“We lost our heads in two big moments,” he said. “Moi’s a great player; he’s been excellent since I arrived, but that was a bad decision. We gave away a penalty. Suddenly, they’re launching long balls, picking up scraps, and then the handball just threw us off. We need to be more professional and handle these key moments better.”

He couldn’t believe Leeds managed to score twice in five minutes, especially with Chelsea controlling the rest of the match. “Honestly, I can’t remember Leeds having much else.”

On Palmer’s glaring miss, Rosenior just shook his head. “Ninety-nine times out of a hundred, he scores that. It’s just that one time he doesn’t, and it costs us. But really, we shouldn’t be in that situation. At 2-0, the game should be done and dusted. I need to show the players what went wrong so it doesn’t happen again.”

Joao Pedro, who got Chelsea’s first goal, was just as frustrated. “We started well, went 1-0, then 2-0, and then let them back in. It’s been like this all season. We need to be more consistent and focused and finish games off. We’ve dropped points at home before. If we want Champions League football, we can’t afford this.”

Leeds, meanwhile, probably can’t believe their luck. They’re 15th now, six points clear of the drop.

Next up, Chelsea head to Hull City for the FA Cup, while Leeds travel to Birmingham City. Both teams have plenty to think about.

BRIDGE COLLAPSE: HOW LEEDS UNITED STUNNED CHELSEA WITH A MIRACULOUS TWO-GOAL LATE COMEBACK

Chelsea blew a 2-0 lead to draw 2-2 with Leeds United. Read the full match report, Opta stats, and Liam Rosenior's reaction here.

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Cole Palmer’s late miss sums up a night of Chelsea’s missed clinical opportunities.

Leeds United pulled off a wild comeback at Stamford Bridge, clawing back from two goals down to grab a 2–2 draw against Chelsea on Tuesday night. For more than an hour, Leeds looked out of it as second best everywhere you looked, but Chelsea’s late collapse let them back in.

Daniel Farke’s side barely threatened for most of the game. Chelsea went up 2–0 thanks to João Pedro and Cole Palmer, and honestly, it felt like they’d cruise to three points. Leeds didn’t even manage a shot on target until the second half, but when Lukas Nmecha buried a penalty, and Noah Okafor poked in a late equaliser, everything flipped.

This was a textbooksmash-and-grabb. Leeds only managed four shots the whole night, compared to Chelsea’s 19, but made both of their shots on target count.

For the first hour, Chelsea was in total control. Palmer was everywhere, drifting across the pitch, finding pockets of space, picking passes. The opener came just like that: Palmer slipped away from his marker, turned into space, and fed João Pedro, who chipped in over Karl Darlow. That goal took João Pedro to ten for the season, matching his best-ever Premier League tally from his Brighton days.

Chelsea doubled their lead just before the hour after Jaka Bijol bundled João Pedro over in the box, a clumsy challenge, and Palmer didn’t miss from the spot.

Then Leeds got a break. Moisés Caicedo crashed into Jayden Bogle in the area, and Nmecha smashed the penalty home. Suddenly, Chelsea started to look nervous. The equaliser came from more of their chaos at the back: a long ball, a mess between Bogle, Josh Acheampong, and Robert Sánchez, and Okafor walked the ball into an empty net.

Even then, Palmer had a golden chance to win it at the death but somehow skied his shot from point-blank range. That summed up Chelsea’s night.

This was the first time since October 20,23 when they let a two-goal lead slip against Arsenal,l that Chelsea failed to win after being two goals up in the league. For all the progress under Liam Rosenior, Chelsea still has that unpredictable edge.

You can check out all the stats from the match in our centre below, team and player numbers, expected goals, passing networks, chalkboards, the works. Everything you need if you want to dig into the details.

And here are some quick post-match facts:

Leeds hadn't come back from two down on the road in the Premier League since March 2022 (beating Wolves 3-2). Chelsea last failed to win after leading by two in October 2023 (2-2 against Arsenal).

João Pedro now has 10 league goals this season, matching his best single-season tally (from 2024-25 with Brighton). He’s just the fourth Brazilian to hit double figures in back-to-back Premier League seasons, joining Roberto Firmino, Richarlison, and Matheus Cunha.

Pedro’s on fire lately, too six goals in his last eight matches for Chelsea, more than any of his teammates since Rosenior took over.

And since his Premier League debut for Chelsea last September, Cole Palmer has scored 18 penalties more than anyone else in that time (Salah has 15).

That’s how it played out at Stamford Bridge. Not a night Chelsea will want to remember, but Leeds fans will take that point all day.

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