Arsenal vs Chelsea: Rosenior explains the Blues' exit from Carabao Cup

Chelsea manager Liam Rosenior believed his side’s inability to produce a moment of decisive quality proved costly as the Blues suffered a 1-0 defeat to Arsenal in the second leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final at the Emirates Stadium.

Heading into the tie trailing 3-2 on aggregate, Chelsea adopted a disciplined and compact defensive approach, frustrating the hosts for long spells but offering little attacking threat in the first half.

Arsenal controlled possession without creating clear chances, while Chelsea focused on limiting space and staying in the contest.

The introduction of Cole Palmer and Estevao after the break injected energy and urgency into Chelsea’s play, with the Blues enjoying their best spell of the match in the second half.

However, despite increased pressure and committing numbers forward late on, they were unable to find the breakthrough that would have forced extra time.

Instead, Chelsea were punished at the death as former Blues forward Kai Havertz struck with virtually the final kick of the game, sealing Arsenal’s progression and ending Chelsea’s cup hopes.

Reflecting on the defeat, Rosenior felt his side showed improvement but lacked the final touch when it mattered most.

“We dominated the areas we wanted to in the second half, but we didn’t find that quality moment. When you’re pushing as we were, we put both defenders in the box and in the last few minutes of injury time, that can always happen,” Rosenior told ITV1.

Despite the painful nature of the exit, the Chelsea boss took encouragement from his team’s performance across both legs, insisting the gap between the two London rivals is closing.

“Arsenal know they were in for a game today, over both ties. I think there are clear improvements from the first leg to the second. Yes, it’s painful to lose – you want to go through. We just need to keep making improvements, which I’m seeing,” he added.