The 1-0 victory for Chelsea against Pafos will likely not be a game that will live long in the memory during Liam Rosenior’s tenure in charge as head coach.
The Blues struggled to score for large portions of the match, and eventually relied on a late Moises Caicedo header to finally break down their stubborn opponents at Stamford Bridge.
Despite the frustrating performance by Chelsea standards, there were still some positives to take from the result. Brazilian wunderkid Estevao Willian impressed greatly off the bench to help get them over the line.
With that win, Chelsea have now set up a crucial final group stage game against Antonio Conte’s Napoli next week, knowing that a win will almost certainly book them a place in the Round of 16 straight away.
Liam Rosenior breaks Chelsea passing record in victory vs Pafos
The Chelsea supporters were frustrated at Rosenior’s very patient style of play against Pafos, as Chelsea dominated with 71% possession on the night.
The Blues also completed 94.5% of their passes according to stats provider OptaJoe, which is the highest percentage the club have recorded since these records began.
Chelsea fans have not been known to take too kindly to patient, slow buildup football. Former Blues coach Enzo Maresca was jeered in his first game in charge for trying to build up from the back against Manchester City.
Likewise, Blues supporters were heard criticising Liam Rosenior’s style of play against Charlton in his first game too, and he still faces an uphill task to get everyone on board with his tactics.
However, despite his current struggles to win over the Chelsea fanbase, Rosenior has just achieved a worthy milestone as his Chelsea career gets underway.
