Chelsea 0-3 PSG: Liam Rosenior justifies reasons for Fernandez, Palmer, Pedro substitutions during embarrassing Champions League exit

By Darren Plant | 17 Mar 2026 23:04

Rosenior justifies early withdrawals of key players during Chelsea's capitulation to PSG

Chelsea head coach Liam Rosenior has attempted to justify his decision to make a number of early withdrawals during his side's embarrassing Champions League exit to Paris Saint-Germain.

Trailing 5-2 from the first leg of the last-16 tie at Parc des Princes, Chelsea found themselves 2-0 down within 14 minutes of the second leg at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday night.

The Blues ultimately succumbed to a 3-0 defeat on the night as PSG set up a quarter-final showdown with either Liverpool or Galatasaray.

On the hour mark, Rosenior opted to substitute Enzo Fernandez, Cole Palmer and Joao Pedro, essentially an acknowledgement that the tie was over.

That move led to boos from some sections of the fanbase, but the Englishman feels that he made the right decision.

Rosenior double-downs on triple Chelsea substitution

Speaking at his post-match press conference, Rosenior felt that it made sense to partially manage the minutes of the trio at that point in the tie.

He told reporters: "It's not an admission, it's a reality of where the group are.

"They've played over 100 games in 18 months, they've had no break. It's not an excuse but you're seeing with Reece [James] and others that if I don't manage their minutes, the likelihood of them getting injured is more likely.

"I have to make really difficult decisions that at the time maybe don't look great."

Rosenior also substituted left-back Marc Cucurella with 19 minutes remaining, before Trevoh Chalobah suffered an ankle injury during the closing stages that could sideline him for a number of weeks at the very least.

Rosenior right to substitute Fernandez, Palmer, Pedro

After three successive defeats and four losses in six matches, it is fair to say that Rosenior has not got much right in recent matches.

However, he was correct to look at the bigger picture when substituting Fernandez, Palmer and Pedro, having arguably already over-used them in Saturday's defeat to Newcastle United.

Once Chelsea have played Everton on Saturday, they only play Port Vale in an FA Cup quarter-final between March 22 and April 12, when they host Manchester City in the Premier League.

Nevertheless, many of this Chelsea squad will be going away with their nations for international double-headers after the weekend.