Despite suffering a 3-2 loss to London rivals Arsenal, Chelsea FC head coach Liam Rosenoir says he is proud of his team’s bravery.
Chelsea suffered the loss in the first leg of the Carabao Cup semifinals with the return leg to be played on February 3 at the Emirates Stadium.
Alejandro Garnacho starred in the loss after scoring a brace as a substitute but Chelsea goalkeeper Robert Sanchez’s howler led to a Viktor Gyokeres goal before Martin Zubimendi delivered a fine finish to seal the win.
The loss is Rosenoir’s first since becoming Chelsea head coach after Enzo Maresca’s departure but despite missing out on a win, Rosenoir said to the club’s media that he was proud of his team.
“I was proud of the bravery of the players to try to execute certain aspects of what I’ve asked.”
“I’ve been in for six days and we’ve had two matches [in that time]. I’m not asking for time because I think the group is good enough to win now.”
Ben White of Arsenal celebrates scoring his team’s first goal with teammates during the Carabao Cup Semi Final First Leg match between Chelsea and Arsenal (Photo by Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty
“I’m very encouraged by a lot of things I saw today. I’m not happy to lose any game…there are a lot of things I can show the players that they can keep improving.”
Viktor Gyökeres of Arsenal slides in andscores a goal to make it 2-0 during the Carabao Cup Semi Final First Leg match between Chelsea and Arsenal (Photo by Robin Jones/Getty Images)