Former Chelsea star Frank Leboeuf has labelled Liam Rosenior’s decision to pass a note to Alejandro Garnacho as ‘insane’ during the final minutes of their Champions League defeat by PSG.
Chelsea had trailed 5-2 heading into the second leg at Stamford Bridge, and any hopes of a comeback ended when Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Bradley Barcola put the visitors 2-0 up on the night within 14 minutes.
The reigning champions added a third through substitute Senny Mayulu in the 62nd minute, with Luis Enrique’s side taking an 8-2 aggregate lead.
Despite the tie being well beyond Chelsea’s reach, head coach Rosenior was seen passing a note to Alejandro Garnacho in the 84th minute while Trevoh Chalobah was receiving treatment for an injury.
Leboeuf, who won five major honours at Chelsea between 1996 and 2001, took aim at Rosenior for giving out instructions with the contest already over.
The World Cup winner claimed the note was ‘completely useless’ and suggested Rosenior was attempting to show something to those watching.
Liam Rosenior was seen passing a note to Alejandro Garnacho in the 82nd minute with Chelsea 8-2 down on aggregate
Leboeuf told ESPN: ‘I would’ve gone to the touchline and asked if it was a joke or are you kidding? You think the things I read will be useful right now?’
‘It doesn’t mean anything, maybe he was writing a joke.
The funny thing is the guy who received it was looking for another player to give him instructions.
‘Maybe the player he was talking about was already substituted, we don’t know. Maybe he lost his mind, that was insane.
‘He’s not the only one to do those kinds of things. I don’t know what the new coaches from the new era are trying to show us, we know it’s completely useless.’
Leboeuf was not the only pundit to question Rosenior’s decision, with former Real Madrid and England boss Fabio Capello also among his critics.
‘He’s out of his mind,’ said Capello, as reported by Football Italia.
‘He did something that will make the players laugh. That’s what they think. You saw his [Garnacho’s] face when he entered the pitch with that note; he was like: “What are you saying to me?”
Former England boss Fabio Capello suggested some Chelsea players would be laughing at Rosenior’s approach
‘When you do smart things, you are involved, but when you do something like that, how are you involving somebody?’
Rosenior, who was appointed on a six-and-a-half year contract back in January, is facing his first spell of pressure as Chelsea boss.
Chelsea’s Champions League elimination to PSG – their joint heaviest defeat in a two-legged European tie – came either side of losing in the Premier League to Newcastle on Saturday.
The loss to Newcastle dented Chelsea’s hopes of qualifying for next season’s Champions League and had the additional furore surrounding their first team staging a pre-match huddle around referee Paul Tierney.
Rosenior’s sixth-placed side will look to bounce back by beating Everton on Saturday ahead of the international break. They will then turn their attentions to facing Port Vale in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup, which now represents their only chance to win silverware this season.
