Liam Rosenior has defended his decision to start Filip Jorgensen ahead of Robert Sanchez despite his howler in Chelsea’s 5-2 defeat to PSG in Wednesday’s Champions League Round of 16 first leg clash.
The former Strasbourg coach surprisingly dropped first-choice goalkeeper Sanchez for Jorgensen ahead of the clash, but the decision backfired after the goalkeeper’s mistake gave the hosts a goal.
The Blues had defeated the European champions 3-0 in the final of the FIFA Club World Cup when both sides last met, but were on the receiving end this time around and look to be on their way out of the tournament.
Speaking after the match, Rosenior has backed Jorgensen to dust himself and improve on his performances as other games approaches.
“Sánchez or Jørgensen? They have different qualities,” Rosenior said.
“Rob is outstanding from crosses and an outstanding shot-stopper. Filip has amazing qualities too. One of the reasons we won at Aston Villa was because we were so calm in possession.
But players sometimes make mistakes. Filip isn’t the first one to make a mistake, that’s part of football, but he has put his hands up in the dressing-room”, he continued.
PSG went in front inside 10 minutes through Bradley Barcola, but Chelsea pulled one back through Malo Gusto.
Ousmane Dembele put the home side ahead heading into the break, but the Blues leveled again this time through Enzo Fernandez.
A mistake by Jorgensen then allowed PSG to score a third through Vitinha, while substitute Kvaratskhelia added a late double, sealing a 5-2 win in the first leg.
“But the fourth goal from Khvicha Kvaratskhelia was an unbelievable strike, no keeper in the world can get that”, Rosenior added.
Chelsea will hope for a much improved showing when they return for the second leg on Tuesday.
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