Liam Rosenior admitted Chelsea shot themselves in the foot after their Champions League hopes were shredded by a late capitulation against Paris St Germain.
A 5-2 defeat in the Parc des Princes leaves the Blues facing a likely last-16 exit in a week’s time but the manner of the loss was painful.
They had twice recovered from a goal down and looked like surviving an intriguing match with a draw when, in the 74th minute, Filip Jorgensen’s pass was cut out easily by Bradley Barcola, substitute Khvicha Kvaratskhelia squared it and Vitinha chipped the stranded goalkeeper.
Chelsea fell to bits after that. Kvaratskhelia helped himself to two late goals and there was the unfortunate sight of Pedro Neto manhandling a ball boy to the ground in a struggle for the ball before Enzo Fernandez, the vice-captain, visibly turned on his goalkeeper after another mistake which led to a late disallowed goal.
A brave display was undermined by a psychological capitulation in the last 15 minutes. Chelsea looked to have done enough to take a hard-earned result back to Stamford Bridge, Malo Gusto and Fernandez scoring equalisers in answer to goals by Barcola and Ousmane Dembele.
Instead the coming days are likely to involve an inquest into how and why the team collapsed so dispiritingly.
“A very disappointing result on an evening where for much of the game we were really happy,” said Rosenior. “The last 15 minutes were crazy.
“That’s on me. We need to be better in moments when setbacks and mistakes happen. You need to stay calm in the moment, me included.
“It’s a painful one because for 75 minutes we were in the tie.”
There is likely to be intense scrutiny of Rosenior’s goalkeeping selections after this. Jorgensen was in the team after displacing Robert Sanchez but following this mistake it is hard to see where the manager goes from here.
“Players make mistakes,” said Rosenior. “Filip is not the first to make mistake. In that moment at 2-2 we’re in the ascendency.
“In the top level it’s fine margins. The fifth goal was the most painful one. We didn’t deal with a basic pattern of play, they scored a fifth and made the tie very difficult.”
Neto gave his shirt to the ball boy he had knocked over but it further left a sour taste on an awful night.
“If there was anything from our side that was wrong or out of order I apologise on behalf of the club,” said Rosenior.
Chelsea had been brave in coming to the home of the European champions and taking them on but their naivety was their undoing.
They were too casual about the threat posed by PSG, leaving space for Dembele and for Barcola, not giving their all in challenging for second balls and too easily pulled out of shape by rapid transitions.
“We’ve shot ourselves in the foot and made this tie very difficult,” said Rosenior.
“Even at 4-2, it’s not the best result but we’re still right in this at nine. The fifth goal, that’s the painful one. It’s something I really have to solve. We are very close to be an outstanding team.”
PSG boss Luis Enrique admitted his side had to battle hard.
“It has been difficult but I think everybody was happy, who was supporting PSG, because the result is good. It was very tough because both teams were trying to play football,” Enrique said.
“This is the most important moment for us in this competition, we know it’s going to be tough away at Chelsea. I think we played well at a high level against a difficult side. I’m happy.
