Chelsea had the chance to reach the Carabao Cup final this season but failed to beat Arsenal over two legs. Manager Liam Rosenior was still pleased with the performances, but his post-match comments were not well-received by a pundit.
Chelsea Manager Liam Rosenior Called Out for Comments After Arsenal Loss
Chelsea lost the first leg 3-2 at home, with Alejandro Garnacho scoring twice. They needed to beat Arsenal at the Emirates on Tuesday, Feb. 3, but ended up losing 1-0.
The Blues held on to a goalless scoreline until injury time, when Kai Havertz scored on a counterattack to make it 4-2 to the Gunners on aggregate and eliminate his former side. The performance received mixed reactions from fans, but Rosenior said he was proud of the brave display that kept them within touching distance until the end.
Former Premier League striker Troy Deeney has criticized the manager for his comments, saying they were “vanilla” and filled with generic words. The pundit claimed he could not see any pain in Rosenior’s words despite losing to derby rivals on a major stage.
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Deeney, speaking on CBS Sports, when he said: “If I was a Chelsea fan, I don’t want to hear that. You’re giving me a lot of generic and vanilla comments, like, you’re telling me it hurts but I can’t see any pain in you that you’re actually losing that game.”
Liam Rosenior’s Chelsea have been perfect…
Apart from their two meetings with Mikel Arteta 😬 pic.twitter.com/X63H6SJgfj
— ESPN UK (@ESPNUK) February 4, 2026
He went on to claim there was nothing on the pitch from the Blues to suggest they were pushing for the win and added:
“I didn’t see anything in that game that suggested they wanted to go and win, it was all about stopping Arsenal. And when you’re talking to me about set-piece coaches, I don’t want to hear about it. You’ve just lost, you’re out of the semi-final and we’re talking about the set-piece coach… watching the other team so he thought he’d stick three up. I’m not interested.”
Arsenal will now face Manchester City in the final next month after the Cityzens defeated Newcastle United with ease in their semifinal. Pep Guardiola’s side won 5-1 on aggregate, which included a 3-1 victory at home this week in the second leg.
