Liam Rosenior: Chelsea boss accepts fans’ frustration after sealing historic Premier League comeback - ‘I would’ve booed us’

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Liam Rosenior said Chelsea supporters were "right to boo" after a terrible first half against West Ham, admitting he would have done the same. A heavily rotated Chelsea team were 2-0 down at the break, and the supporters made their frustrations known. But after the Blues completed a dramatic second-half comeback, Rosenior said the fans were justified in their reaction to the opening period.

Highlights: Pedro magic seals crucial Chelsea win in Naples

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Liam Rosenior said Chelsea supporters "were right to boo" the team following a dismal first half against West Ham United at Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea were 2-0 down at the break after goals from Jarrod Bowen and Crysencio Summerville, with the hosts managing just one attempt on target.

Boos reverberated around Stamford Bridge on the half-time whistle, leading to Trevoh Chalobah and Robert Sanchez both getting involved in heated exchanges with supporters.

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But after seeing his side complete a dramatic second-half turnaround following a triple-change at the interval, Rosenior said the home fans were justified in their reaction to the opening 45 minutes, admitting he would have done the same.

"I have to say the fans were magnificent in the second half," the Chelsea head coach said. "It was after two minutes of the second half that they were with us.

"They were right to boo. I would have booed us in the first half. Our performance was nowhere near the level it needed to be collectively in terms of our energy and our decision-making. That’s fair.

Chelsea players react to falling behind against West Ham at Stamford Bridge

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"So to see them after the game, 45 minutes later, so happy and delighted with what they saw from the team makes me very proud.

"I said to the players at half-time, we can make what is probably the worst feeling of the season the best feeling of the season.

"And I think they went out and performed magnificently in the second half."

It was the first time in Premier League history that Chelsea had recovered from trailing by two goals or more to win a match.

Rosenior’s half-time changes were decisive as he introduced Joao Pedro, Marc Cucurella and Wesley Fofona in place of Alejandro Garnacho, Jorrel Hato and Benoit Badiashile.

Fofana produced a delightful assist to set up Pedro for Chelsea’s first, before Cucurella’s diving header levelled proceedings, and it was Pedro involved again for the winner, teeing up Enzo Fernandez to stroke home in stoppage time.

The victory saw Rosenior become the first manager to guide Chelsea to a Premier League win after being 2-0 down at the break.

It comes just days after his side came from 2-1 down away at Napoli to beat the Italian champions 3-2 and qualify for the last 16 of the Champions League.

Rosenior impressed with Chelsea 'character' after comeback

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But the Chelsea boss was keen to credit the character of his players for the second-half comeback against West Ham on Saturday night, rather than his half-time changes.

"My biggest learning is there's a spirit and a fight and a resilience in this group that I really, really like," he said. "I've demanded that from the first day of stepping in.

"We haven't had many training sessions, but we've spoken about reacting positively to setbacks.

"We've spoken about reactions to losing the ball, pressing, energy, intensity. All of that was there in the second half, which wasn't there in the first half. I don't put that just down to the changes I made."

The 41-year-old has now won six of his opening seven games in charge, with results that have taken his side to fourth place in the league, the fourth round of the FA Cup and the last 16 in Europe.

Their only defeat came in the first leg of their League Cup semi-final against Arsenal, but Rosenior will hope to put that right when the teams meet at the Emirates on Tuesday.

Arsenal will go into the match with a 2-1 advantage from the first leg.

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