Rosenior not faulting Chelsea's fight in EFL Cup exit

Liam Rosenior says he cannot fault the intensity or the fight of his Chelsea players despite being knocked out of the EFL Cup by Arsenal.

Having lost the first leg of the semi-final tie 3-2, a single goal for Chelsea would have forced at least extra time.

However, the Blues failed to find a way through at the Emirates and eventually suffered a 1-0 loss, with their former player Kai Havertz rounding Robert Sanchez to win the game in the 97th minute.

It is the first time Chelsea have lost both legs of a semi-final in the EFL Cup since 1990-91 (versus Sheffield Wednesday).

Chelsea had 14 shots to Arsenal's five, though created just 0.7 expected goals (xG), with only two of their attempts testing David Raya.

"We dominated the areas we wanted to in the second half, but we didn't find that quality moment," Rosenior told ITV1.

"When you're pushing as we were, we put both defenders in the box and in the last few minutes of injury time, that [conceding] can always happen.

"Arsenal know they were in for a game, over both ties. I think there are clear improvements from the first leg to the second.

"Yes, it's painful to lose – you want to go through. We just need to keep making improvements – which I'm seeing."

Chelsea had more shots in the second leg (10 at Stamford Bridge) than in the first, but ultimately only created 1.4 xG across the two matches.

Both of Rosenior's defeats since joining Chelsea have come against Arsenal in the EFL Cup, but he refused to dwell on any regrets he had from the first leg.

"In the first leg, I'm not making excuses, but we had an illness go through the camp on the day of the game – we had four players missing – and I'd been in charge for three days," he added.

"I cannot fault the application, intensity or the fight of the players.

"What we need to do is remember this is the start, and I'm really, really happy with a lot of things I'm seeing.

"You want to get the results – but we need to make sure we rest and recover, and we keep improving as we go."