Rosenior full of praise of his young Chelsea side after win against Napoli as Chelsea get first Champions League away win since 2022.
‘A great marker’: Rosenior lauds young Chelsea side for comeback win at Napoli.
After Chelsea made a valiant comeback against Napoli to advance to the Champions League round of 16, Liam Rosenior complimented his young team’s capacity to overcome hardship.
Rosenior’s team won 3-2 at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona thanks to a brilliant double from João Pedro and a devastating cameo from Cole Palmer. They also avoided the hassle of having to go through the two-leg playoff for a spot in the knockout stage next month.
Chelsea’s 2-1 halftime deficit had appeared dangerous, but the youngest team in the competition responded and sent Antonio Conte’s Napoli out early.
“That’s what experience is,” Rosenior said. “It’s nights like this and it’s also having setbacks and understanding why setbacks happen. I was told that’s the first time we’ve won away in the Champions League for a long, long time as a football club. That’s a great marker for the team and hopefully we can continue.”
Palmer has endured an injury-hit season and was not fit to start in Naples but Chelsea’s star player made his presence felt during the second half. “There was no way that Cole could have started this game and played through to 60, 70, 80 minutes,” Rosenior said. “I knew that Napoli had had a difficult time with injuries.
“I felt that later in the game we would be stronger and I felt Cole’s performance was magnificent. Not just his quality, his pressing, his running for the team. We need to look after him. He’s had so many games over a long period of time.
“We need to look after him and I think the way that he’s managed himself in the last two weeks has been magnificent and hopefully we can now see the best of him now that he’s fully fit. We need to see him absolutely relish nights like this on a big occasion.”