Chelsea news: "We know where it came from" - Rosenior confirms Chelsea mole identified

Chelsea manager Liam Rosenior has confirmed that the club has identified the source behind the team news leaks that preceded both legs of their Champions League last-16 tie against PSG.

Chelsea's lineups leaked twice

Ahead of the first leg in Paris, the full Chelsea starting XI was published by the French media eight hours before kick-off — including the surprising decision to start Filip Jorgensen in goal ahead of the previously criticised Robert Sanchez.

The Blues lost 5-2 at the Parc des Princes. With the score level at 2-2, Jorgensen made a costly error, allowing Vitinha to tap into an empty net and put PSG back in front. The French side then scored twice more to claim a commanding first-leg advantage.

Ahead of Tuesday's return leg at Stamford Bridge, details of Rosenior's lineup were once again published by the French media. Reports confirmed that Jorrel Hato and Trevoh Chalobah would start as the centre-back pairing, that Wesley Fofana would be left out, and that Malo Gusto was absent through illness. Chelsea lost 3-0 on the night and were eliminated from the competition.

Mole identified — and it was not a player

Chelsea investigated the matter internally and concluded that the source of the leaks was external to the club — and not a player. Rosenior confirmed as much at his press conference: "We know [who it was]. It's not come from any place of malicious intent, to me or the team. We know where it's come from and we've dealt with the situation."

Ahead of the first leg, French journalist Fabrice Hawkins was the first to post Chelsea's full starting XI on social media, including Rosenior's tactical intentions for the game. The leak sent shockwaves through the dressing room and stripped the Blues of any element of surprise.

After the final whistle, Rosenior admitted he had not been aware of the leak but pledged to get to the bottom of it: "I wasn't aware. I'm sure we'll get to the bottom of that if that's the case. These things now, they happen quite a lot. We get information about our opposition. I'm more worried about the end result than the beginning of the game."