LIAM ROSENIOR FACING FIRST REAL CRISIS SINCE TAKING OVER AT STAMFORD BRIDGE
Chelsea fans boo the team after a third home game without victory, as Champions League qualification hopes begin to fade.
Chelsea started life under Liam Rosenior on fire, winning seven out of their first nine games. The only team to stop them in that stretch was Arsenal, and that was just in a couple of EFL Cup matches. Everything looked smooth at the start.
But things are getting a bit rocky now. Two frustrating home draws against Burnley and Leeds knocked the wind out of their sails, and the real trouble hit with that midweek collapse at Paris Saint-Germain. Now, after a deserved home loss to Newcastle, not only are their Champions League hopes in danger, but a top-four finish is slipping out of reach. That honeymoon phase under Rosenior? It’s done.
Newcastle came to Stamford Bridge with a lot less on the line. They're floating in the middle of the Premier League table, and their Champions League hopes stay alive after drawing 1-1 with Barcelona in the first leg. With the second legs coming up this week, it’s almost understandable that Eddie Howe decided to mix things up, making five changes from the Manchester United game.
He threw in Joe Willock, Jacob Ramsey, and Nick Woltemade in the middle – a midfield trio you don’t see too often.
But rotation or not, Newcastle played with real purpose. They looked more comfortable and sharper than Chelsea, took control of the match, and fully earned their win.
The opener came early, just 18 minutes in, and it was a real team effort: ten Newcastle players touched the ball in the move before Tino Livramento broke through the middle, set up Willock, who drew in the defender and then squared it to Anthony Gordon for a simple tap-in, cool, clinical stuff.
That put Gordon up to nine goals in all competitions in 2026, with only João Pedro scoring more (he has 11) among players at Premier League clubs.
For Newcastle, going ahead at Stamford Bridge felt special. Before this match, they’d lost 11 out of their previous 12 league games at this stadium. But Gordon scoring first away from home hasn’t always been a good omen; he’d done it four times before in the Premier League but never ended up on the winning side (three draws and a loss).
Chelsea fans let the team know how they felt at halftime. The boos weren’t exactly subtle, which says a lot about how far off their best Chelsea was.
Rosenior shuffled things after the break, trying to kick-start some life into his team. Chelsea improved, no doubt. Liam Delap, who came on as a sub, almost scored. Alejandro Garnacho caused real trouble, and Reece James rattled the post with a late free kick.
But Newcastle held firm and saw the game out, grabbing only their second ever Premier League win at Stamford Bridge (their first was in May 2012). Those three points move them up to the top half of the table suddenly; they’re six points behind Chelsea in fifth. If Newcastle stay focused, there’s still hope for another memorable European push.
Chelsea has to turn this around, fast. They haven’t won any of their last three league games at home, something that hasn’t happened since that ugly five-match run back in late 2023. If Rosenior wants to keep the momentum he started with, Chelsea needs to stop the slide and put wins back on the board.
A few final facts from the match:
- Chelsea have now gone three home league games without a win for the first time since autumn 2023.
- Aaron Ramsdale set a quirky record. He’s now won at Stamford Bridge in the Premier League with three different teams: Newcastle, Arsenal, and Bournemouth.
DECODING JOE COLE’S TACTICAL BREAKDOWN: WHY OLIVER GLASNER IS THE PERFECT FIT FOR CHELSEA
From Fabregas to Glasner: Inside Chelsea's search for a new head coach following a string of five consecutive defeats.
Joe Cole thinks Oliver Glasner would be a smart pick to manage Chelsea, and he’s pretty sure the Crystal Palace boss would leap at the opportunity this summer.
Right now, Chelsea is looking for a new permanent head coach after firing Liam Rosenior. Calum McFarlane has stepped in as caretaker for the second time in just four months.
Toward the end of Rosenior’s time, results took a nosedive. A 3-0 loss at Brighton, which was their fifth straight defeat, was the final straw for the people in charge at Stamford Bridge.
McFarlane picked up the pieces and managed to guide the team to a tough 1-0 win over Leeds in Sunday’s FA Cup semi-final at Wembley. He’s expected to lead them out again in the final against Manchester City on May 16.
Chelsea’s decision-makers want to sort out a permanent manager soon, and Glasner, who’s set to leave Crystal Palace this summer, is one of several names on their radar.
Andoni Iraola, Felipe Luis, and Cesc Fabregas have all been mentioned recently. But last Friday, Fabregas seemed to rule himself out by stressing his commitment to Como.
Speaking on The Dressing Room Podcast, Cole said, “Glasner’s a good shout. He’s not quite at the top level yet, so Chelsea would look like a big step up for him after Frankfurt and Palace.”
He added, “But honestly, if you take the Chelsea job, you have to know they’re not going to throw huge money at it. The cash just isn’t there right now, no matter what anyone says. They won’t be spending hundreds of millions in the summer. It just doesn’t add up financially.
“So, Chelsea needs someone who can grab hold of things. Glasner’s a good fit, and you know he’d want the job. Don’t even start hoping for someone like Luis Enrique if he’s leaving PSG. Xabi Alonso’s done really well, but still…”
Cole also mentioned Fabregas as a possible ‘interesting’ choice if things change. “Cesc would be a wild card, but you’d be handing the job to someone pretty inexperienced. Still, he really understands what it takes at the very top,” Cole said.
“It’s not the same as Liam [Rosenior], who came in as a young manager. Enzo Maresca played at Juventus but wasn’t there long. Cesc was honestly one of the best midfielders the league has seen. So that would be interesting if conditions were right.”
In his Paddy Power column this week, Cole told Frank Lampard not to even think about returning for a third stint as Chelsea manager, despite Lampard’s strong season with Coventry City.
“Frank should stay away from Chelsea, no matter how tempting it is. He loves the club, I get that, but he shouldn’t go back,” Cole wrote. “He’s been fantastic at Coventry. Nobody really expected them to push for promotion this year.”
Looking ahead, Chelsea wants to build on their FA Cup win over Leeds as they return to Premier League action at home against Nottingham Forest next Monday.
The Blues are stuck in eighth place after five straight losses. But a win over Forest could jump them up to sixth, ahead of Bournemouth and Brighton.
CHELSEA CONSIDERS OFFLOADING GARNACHO AFTER FAILED DEBUT SEASON AT STAMFORD BRIDGE
Alejandro Garnacho’s Chelsea tenure is in jeopardy. Read why the winger is facing an uncertain future following his poor form.
Nicky Butt didn’t hold back when he talked about Alejandro Garnacho. If they'd shared a dressing room at Manchester United, Butt said, Garnacho would've gotten a rude awakening, probably roughed up and told to get his act together.
Honestly, Garnacho has heard plenty of criticism about his attitude, both on and off the pitch. Fans see it all the time.
Butt knows the game’s changed a lot since his time, but he still thinks that if Garnacho were at Old Trafford back then, someone would've made sure he stopped messing around and focused on his football. Butt put it bluntly on The Good, The Bad and The Football podcast: “Forget his ability; I don’t think he’s that great anyway, but his attitude was a disgrace at Man United. He would've gotten treated badly, taken out in training, if he were brought up with us.”
Cristiano Ronaldo, Garnacho’s idol, went through this same kind of tough love at United. As a teenager, it actually made him cry sometimes. Rio Ferdinand once admitted to “borderline bullying” him, and Quinton Fortune ribbed him constantly and pushed him hard, all to toughen him up. Ferdinand recalled on the Kyle and Jackie O radio show how he used to knock Ronaldo around every morning before training as a way to build resilience. Ronaldo, ever competitive, sometimes almost broke down, but it paid off.
Butt worked with Garnacho for a bit while he was at the club. He remembers Garnacho arriving at 16, thinking he belonged in the first team right away. Butt saw an attitude of too much confidence mixed with a bit of an edge. When Garnacho finally made it to the senior squad, Butt felt he got carried away too fast. “I hope young players get paid millions,” Butt said, “but after that bicycle kick, someone should’ve brought him back down to earth. Maybe nobody could. Selling him was the best thing United did.”
Chelsea bought Garnacho for £40 million last summer, hoping for success. So far, though, he just hasn’t managed to make much of a mark, and it’s been a frustrating debut season.
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