Chelsea are in freefall after their latest defeat – 3-0 at Everton – and now have a two‑week international break during which to stew on 10 damaging days.
After suffering an 8-2 aggregate loss to Paris St‑Germain in the Champions League last 16, Chelsea’s defeat at the hands of Beto and Ilman Ndiaye on Saturday means back‑to‑back Premier League losses and no wins in four in all competitions.
This has led to increasing scrutiny of head coach Liam Rosenior and the club as a whole, not least from vice‑captain Enzo Fernandez, who said Chelsea had lost “identity, structure and direction” since former boss Enzo Maresca left the club in January, adding the players did not understand why he left.
Although Fernandez went closest to scoring and embraced Rosenior after the match, his comments paint a worrying picture.
Once again on Saturday, Chelsea were outrun, error‑prone and tactically open, as Everton played through them for a comfortable win at the Hill Dickinson Stadium.
The result leaves Chelsea sixth in the Premier League, still just one point behind fifth‑placed Liverpool in the race for Champions League qualification.
However, Everton are now seventh and only two points behind Chelsea, part of a group of sides capable of leapfrogging the struggling giants with seven matches left to play this season.
“I don’t focus on the noise,” Rosenior told BBC Match of the Day. “I know the reality of where I’m at and where we are at as a club and what we can achieve, which is still some amazing things.
“It’s been a really testing period for these lads. We’ve had a lot of setbacks and we have to dust ourselves down and make sure we come back fighting.”