The embarrassing stat that shows Chelsea players are refusing to work for Liam Rosenior

Martin Macdonald

• 22 Apr 2026 11:01 CDT
• 4 min read

News

Chelsea are currently on their worst run since the Titanic sank in 1912.

The 3-0 loss against Brighton on Tuesday means the Blues have lost five matches in a row without even scoring a goal and the major downturn in form means it's likely they will fail to qualify for the Champions League.

For a club that recently posted the single biggest year-on-year financial loss in the history of English football, failure to reach the Champions League could be extremely damaging.

What's more worrying than the results is the performances, as Chelsea barely laid a glove on Brighton and didn't record a single shot on target during the game.

Joao Pedro is the only player to hit double figures in the Premier League this season, while other attacking summer recruits Liam Delap, Estevao, Jamie Gittens and Alejandro Garnacho have just four goals between them.

After the Brighton loss, manager Liam Rosenior provided a damning appraisal of the performance.

"It was unacceptable in every aspect of the game, unacceptable in our attitude,” the Chelsea boss said.

"I keep coming out and defending the players - that's indefensible, that performance tonight.

"The manner of the goals we conceded, the amount of duels that we lost, the lack of intensity in the team. Something needs to change drastically right now.

"I think the players need to have a look in the mirror for what they put in. You can talk about tactics... tactics come after the basics.

"Having more courage to play, winning duels, winning headers, tackles, conceding terrible goals. That was an unacceptable performance tonight."

Rosenior is right

Let's focus on one thing Rosenior said and that is a failure to do the basics.

The one basic skill every footballer on the planet needs is to run - and Chelsea are failing in that aspect of the game.

Post-match, Trevoh Chalobah told Sky Sports:

"I think the boys were running their socks off. If you look in the dressing room, everyone is tired. It's nothing to do with effort. We gave it our all. We got beat today. We ran today. The stats are stats. The boys are tired."

It turns out Chelsea didn't run their socks off, haven't ran their socks off once for Rosenior, and haven't ran their socks off more than their opponents in any Premier League game this season.

Yes, from 34 matches this season, the Brighton loss presented the 34th time that Chelsea have been outrun by an opponent.

Brighton ran 101.2km to Chelsea’s 94km.

Yes, it should be noted that the Blues are a possession-based team and will not always run more than their opponents, but with the team sinking like a rock in a pond, it does not make for good reading and promotes the narrative that the players are lacking effort on the pitch and support for Rosenior off it.

Manchester City undoubtedly indulge in possession and they run more, on average per game, than any other team in the league.

How close is Rosenior to being sacked?

There is little doubt that Rosenior is a manager under pressure, but Chelsea are eager for this appointment to work.

Co-owner Behdad Eghbali explained last week that he is sympathetic to Rosenior’s case, admitting that the club did not want Maresca to leave.

“Our policy has been no in-season changes,” he said. “It’s not a change we wanted to make. It’s a change that had a bit of a negative impact in the season, when you’re changing systems and personnel, and it’s one we’ve got to fight our way out of.

“I think the perspective is stability, and frankly, getting that stability on the manager side is one of the things we haven’t done right yet, and it’s something we’re striving to improve on.”

“We think Rosenior has every attribute to be successful here. He got off to a great start. We’ve had a tough past five, six matches, but I think we’re behind Liam. Of course, it’s a results business, but we think he can be successful long term.”

Previously, the Daily Mail’s Chelsea expert Kieran Gill stated that it would take “an absolute meltdown” for the Blues to part with Rosenior before the end of the season.

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