PSG 5-2 Chelsea: Liam Rosenior calls for 'a reaction' from Blues stars after self-inflicted Champions League collapse

Chelsea head coach Liam Rosenior has conceded that his players 'did not stay calm' as they capitulated against Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday night.

In the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie, the Blues conceded three goals during the closing quarter of the game to lose by a 5-2 scoreline at Parc des Princes.

At 2-2, Filip Jorgensen inexplicitly passed the ball to a PSG player, which allowed Vitinha to lob the stranded goalkeeper, and the Denmark international should have done better for PSG's fifth having allowed the ball to squirm under his hands.

There were positives to take for Chelsea, who twice equalised and were denied a third through an offside flag, but they caused their own downfall during a pivotal period in the tie.

A sloppy error at the back and Chelsea gift the lead back to PSG ?@tntsports & @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/BzdQnUfPvi
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) March 11, 2026

Speaking at a press conference after the match, Rosenior admitted that his Chelsea squad now face "a big test" of character, starting with Saturday's Premier League fixture versus Newcastle United.

"Mistakes happen"

Addressing the performance of Jorgensen, Rosenior revealed that the goalkeeper had apologised to the group.

He told reporters: "I think the first thing, credit to him. He held his hands up in the dressing room. Mistakes happen. I make mistakes. Everybody makes mistakes. Sometimes they're more costly and more painful than other times.

"This is one of those moments. What we have to do for Rob [Sanchez] and for Filip and for all of the players is look after each other.

"This is a big test of our character. We have a huge game in two days against Newcastle that we need to get back for. I want to see the real reaction, the resilience in the next game."

Meanwhile, Rosenior accepted part of the blame for not ensuring that his players kept a level-head at the back end of the match.

The Englishman added: "I need us to maintain our calm in the moment when we have setbacks. This is on me. It's not a blame of the team.

"It's something that we've spoken about from my first day coming in, about reacting positively, about staying calm in moments and it's not happened. That's why it's on me.

"That's not pointing the finger of blame at the players. The intensity of our press, some of our football, some of the chances we created was outstanding. If we don't overcome this hurdle, we won't reach our potential and it's my job to find the answer to it."

The big games keep coming...

Rosenior and his players now need to turn their attention to Saturday, when they play host to Newcastle in an important Premier League fixture.

With Chelsea likely left with too much to do in the second leg versus PSG three days later, it remains to be seen how many changes Rosenior will make.

In the final match before the international break, Chelsea square off against Everton - another rival in the race for European qualification - at Stamford Bridge.