Chelsea trip over their own shoelaces again as Rosenior makes damning ‘wrong player’ admission

Wesley Fofana managed to hold back the tears at becoming the eighth different Chelsea player to be sent off this season, perhaps heartened upon realising that he would subsequently be suspended for their upcoming surrender at the Emirates.

It is unknown whether the Blues will “have a go” or play like “a bottom-five team” again when confronted by the fearsome force that is an Arsenal side pushed closer to their limit by Wolves than Chelsea managed in the Carabao Cup semi-final second leg.

But their need to do so was heightened by the dropping of points in the most disastrous circumstances possible: at home to Burnley, having led entirely comfortably, around the same time Aston Villa rescued a draw of their own against Leeds.

On the face of it the two competitors for Champions League qualification recorded the same result of a home draw against promoted, relegation-adjacent opposition. Yet there was a significant difference in the way Villa earned and Chelsea spurned.

It was such an avoidable stumble. From the 42nd minute to Fofana’s second yellow in the 72nd, Chelsea had five unanswered shots and 78.6 per cent possession. In the final 20 minutes or so they were holding on against a team most recently seen losing to League One side Mansfield.

Burnley had seven shots to two in that period, 68.7 per cent of the ball and a growing belief they could snatch an equaliser, culminating in Zian Flemming’s fine header from a James Ward-Prowse corner.

Chelsea were largely holding on for the remainder of stoppage time as Burnley pursued a first Premier League win since October.

Liam Rosenior will doubtless be grateful for the teaching moment, the opportunity to imprint upon this often really quite foolish squad the importance of just not doing stupid things.

These are problems he inherited rather than helped create. Chelsea are second in the table of points dropped from winning positions, with at least two more Premier League red cards than any other side this season.

The former issue was specifically cited as justification for sacking Enzo Maresca, while discipline was something Mauricio Pochettino struggled with.

Rosenior will have limited time to address those concerns, such is the game at Stamford Bridge.

He himself said Chelsea have “set fire” to valuable points against Leeds and Burnley in the last fortnight because they couldn’t “finish” an opponent, blaming their decisions going forward more than Fofana’s at the back for this draw.

It is fair to say the Blues ultimately allowed complacency to creep in after Joao Pedro’s opener in the fourth minute. That wonderfully-constructed move aside, stitched together by Moises Caicedo’s defence-splitting pass and Pedro Neto’s perfect centre, teased an attacking display which never came.

But stuff as amateur as someone marking “the wrong player”, thus leaving free a 6ft 1in centre-forward from a Ward-Prowse corner in stoppage time, is remarkably damning of a team that cannot help but trip over its own shoelaces, no matter who is in the dugout.