Chelsea 3-2 West Ham: Liam Rosenior understands fan boos but hopes to become the 'best decision' in club's history
Liam Rosenior has admitted he agreed with Chelsea fans who booed their first-half performance against West Ham; changes in the second half saw Chelsea come from behind to win 3-2; Rosenior hopes that his hiring becomes the best decision in the club's history
Saturday 31 January 2026 22:18, UK
Chelsea boss Liam Rosenior says fans were right to boo at the end of the first half against West Ham, but hopes that hiring him becomes "the best decision" the club has ever made.
The chorus of boos at Stamford Bridge was deafening when Anthony Taylor blew for the end of the first 45 minutes, with West Ham 2-0 up against a lacklustre Chelsea who made seven changes to their team after the midweek win against Napoli.
The reaction from the stands was such that Robert Sanchez and Trevor Chalobah appeared to end up in heated debates with some supporters as they trudged off the pitch at the break.
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The introduction of Marc Cucurella, Joao Pedro and Wesley Fofana at half-time, with Benoit Badiashile, Jorrel Hato and Alejandro Garnacho removed as Rosenior ripped up the woefully underperfoming left side of his team, turned the game on its head.
Enzo Fernandez completed the comeback in second-half injury-time as Stamford Bridge turned from a place of despair to one of jubilation in the span of 45 minutes.
"I have to say, the fans were magnificent in the second half," Rosenior said in his post-match press conference.
"They were right to boo. I would have booed us in the first half. Our performance was nowhere near the level it needed to be in terms of collectively, in terms of our energy and our decision-making.
"To see them 45 minutes later, so happy and delighted with what they saw from the team makes me very proud. I said to the players at half time, 'we can make what probably is the worst feeling of the season, the best feeling of the season'. And I think they went out and performed magnificently in the second half."
The win was the first time Chelsea had turned a two-goal half-time deficit into victory in the Premier League, a result that helped them climb up to fourth in the Premier League table.
It could prove to be a pivotal moment in the early stages of Rosenior's Chelsea career.
"I hope in time they'll say it [hiring him] was the best decision this club's ever made," he added.
"But I can't focus on that. This is a really proud club with incredible tradition and recent history of winning trophies.
"They want that and I want that too. For a manager to come in midway through a season with not many sessions and have six wins out of seven games, it's not a bad way to start.
"As long as the team showed a fight and the energy and the intensity that they did in that second half, the fans showed that they'll be with us and they'll support us."
Incredible Chelsea comeback only highlights squad depth issues
Analysis from Sky Sports' Callum Bishop:
If you had asked every single Chelsea fan inside Stamford Bridge at the interval what they thought the full-time score would be, not one would've predicted this. The stadium was volatile, then Liam Rosenior turned to his bench and turned the game on its head.
Seven changes were made to the starting line-up, seemingly with the Carabao Cup semi-final second leg against Arsenal in mind. But it looked like Rosenior had put out the academy. His players lacked sharpness and ideas. Alejandro Garnacho played just two forward passes in his 45 minutes on the pitch.
On came Pedro, Cucurella and Fofana, and suddenly Chelsea looked a different team. All three had a hand in goals. But you cannot overlook the fact that Rosenior has a problem.
"We all know the [regular] starting XI but the players not in that are so far off," was Rob Green's verdict - and he was spot on.
Chelsea's best team can compete with anyone in the Premier League. But Saturday proved that if you remove some of those ingredients, it is a recipe for disaster.
