Liam Rosenior: Chelsea coach continues the positive start

There is no doubt that Rosenior started the momentum with a favorable run of matches that Chelsea were largely expected to win.

Having arrived midway through the season, and with two games a week until at least mid-February – and perhaps beyond if Chelsea fail to beat Napoli and are forced into a Champions League play-off – there has been, and will continue to be, little time for work on the training pitch.

So the Blues still look stylistically similar to the team created by Maresca. They favor a patient style based on possession, high pressing and careful preparation to prevent the opposition from counter-attacking.

However, there remains a major weakness: set pieces. Since Rosenior joined Chelsea, all five goals he has conceded have come from set-pieces – a long throw-in, a deep free-kick and three corners.

Rosenior has focused on tackling other low-hanging fruit. He encouraged his team – the smallest in the Premier League – to be more aggressive, worked to improve team spirit and spoke to players about their poor discipline.

Chelsea still rely primarily on a 4-2-3-1 formation, but there are signs that, as with their Strasbourg side, they will become more tactically flexible. They adjusted their formation to counter Oliver Glasner’s distinctive 3-4-3 system at Palace.

“I think today was a big test. It changed the shape of the game. It’s hard to explain – it’s like a half-four or half-five at the back with Andre,” Rosenior explained. [Santos] Between them.

“For them, from a tactical point of view, the performance they gave in two days makes me very happy, because almost 95% of the pressing and 95% of the positioning was absolutely perfect. They are engaged.”

“I think they believe in what they are doing. It’s one game. We have to make sure we are consistent in every game we play.”