01/02/2026
Tactics went out the window' – Rosenior hails Chelsea's fighting spirit
Liam Rosenior quipped "tactics went out the window" for Chelsea as they completed a stunning turnaround to beat West Ham 3-2 in the Premier League.
Chelsea were booed off at half-time after goals from Jarrod Bowen and Crysencio Summerville gave West Ham a shock 2-0 lead at Stamford Bridge.
However, Rosenior made a triple substitution at half-time, with those changes playing a key role as Joao Pedro and Marc Cucurella scored, with the former also setting up Enzo Fernandez's 92nd-minute winner.
Chelsea won a Premier League match having been two goals behind at half-time for the first time ever in the competition.
And Rosenior believes the victory is down to Chelsea's fighting spirit, as the Blues moved up to fourth.
"There's many emotions, but I'm so happy for the players," Rosenior told Sky Sports. "The fight, the spirit and commitment they showed in the second half.
"Tactics went out the window; it was about personality, quality and character. The players definitely showed that.
"I made three changes; we had the injury to Jamie Gittens. I sensed an energy before the game; it's very difficult going away to Italy [to face Napoli in the Champions League], the emotions of that game, and I made changes to the team.
"I trust my group, but the first half was nowhere near the level of application or energy.
"I stayed calm with them and said we can turn what probably feels like the worst day of our season into the best, and they were magnificent in the second half."
Rosenior became the fourth English manager to win his first three Premier League games in charge, after Bobby Gould in August 1992, Sam Allardyce in August 2001 and Craig Shakespeare (first five) in April 2017.
"I'm learning about this group very quickly," he added. "I've been here three and a half weeks, we've played seven games.
"I've said I'm going to give them all a chance. Hato's an outstanding player, [Benoit] Badiashile's an outstanding player, so's [Alejandro] Garnacho.
"It wasn't about them individually, but our functionality in the first half wasn't there.
"You can see the fight, energy and spirit in the group, which they all have. To come back like we did in Napoli shows me a lot of really positive things."
West Ham, meanwhile, finished with 10 players as Jean-Clair Todibo, who missed a glorious chance to put the Hammers ahead prior to Chelsea's winner, was shown a red card for grabbing Joao Pedro by the neck.
And they lost an away match in which they were two goals ahead at the break for the second time (lost 3-2 to Wigan Athletic in May 2011).
West Ham had 11 shots to Chelsea's 11, and matched the Blues' six shots on target, but Nuno Espirito Santo was left frustrated by the second-half performance.
"Good first half, bad second half," he told Sky Sports. "We played really well, controlled the game, defended well. We created a lot of danger.
"At half-time, I said we needed to defend, to do things properly, keep the same idea, control the game and manage the momentum.
"We knew Chelsea would react, but we defended badly and should have done better.
"It's a reaction [to retreat], but it's not what we should have done. We should have kept the same idea as the first half."
