Manager Frustrated as Late Meltdown Costs Blues Victory After Dominant Display
A furious Liam Rosenior branded Chelsea’s late collapse a “bitter pill to swallow” after his team surrendered a two-goal lead to draw 2-2 with Leeds United at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday night.
The Blues appeared to be cruising to a fifth straight Premier League win after a Joao Pedro strike and a Cole Palmer penalty put them in full control. However, the game unraveled dramatically in the closing stages, with Lukas Nmecha converting a penalty before Noah Okafor tapped in a chaotic 89th-minute equalizer.
The costly stumble denied Chelsea the chance to leapfrog Manchester United into fourth place, leaving Rosenior to lament his side’s sudden loss of composure.
“Two key moments in the game that we don’t take care of. We don’t stay calm,” a visibly frustrated Rosenior said. “I can’t remember Leeds having a shot or a moment in the game. Some of our football was everything I wanted to see. That makes it even more of a bitter pill to swallow.”
The manager also pointed to a contentious handball claim in the build-up to Leeds’ leveler, where Jayden Bogle muscled through before Okafor scored. “The lad handballs it,” Rosenior argued. “It affects my players in that moment… they switch off, we don’t clear the ball and they score.”
Despite an encouraging start to his reign since arriving in January, this result—following a League Cup semi-final exit—highlights the work still ahead. Rosenior emphasized the need for greater professionalism in critical moments.
“We have to make sure we take care of moments and be professional,” he stated. “The ridiculous thing for us is that they’ve managed to score two goals in a five-minute period when for the other 90 minutes we were by far the better team.”
For Chelsea, the dominant performance is now just a footnote to a painful and costly collapse.
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