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Enzo Fernandez (left) publicly questioned decisions made by Chelsea's hierarchy Robin Jones/Getty Images
After the comfort of an easy FA Cup win over Port Vale, the true test of whether Chelsea’s problems are actually over is upon us.
Head coach Liam Rosenior had an ideal fixture last weekend to ensure some of the scrutiny disappeared for a few days. A home quarter-final tie against a side at the bottom of League One could not have been timed any better, as the 7-0 victory over Port Vale proved.
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It ended a run of four successive defeats, a streak Chelsea have only experienced twice this century, but it was not on the pitch where the real problems lay. The drama off the field during the international break caused a lot more damage, with two senior players, Enzo Fernandez and Marc Cucurella, both publicly questioning decisions made by the hierarchy, particularly relating to the departure of previous head coach Enzo Maresca in January.
Fernandez made matters worse by also talking about his desire to live in Madrid on more than one occasion while he was away with Argentina, having already admitted that he did not know where his future lies next season before joining up with his national team. Such was Chelsea’s and Rosenior’s displeasure over his comments while with Argentina that the midfielder was dropped by Chelsea for two games, the second of which will be served against Manchester City on Sunday.
Rosenior made a point of stressing that his relationship with Fernandez is still in ‘a very good place’ after the Port Vale game and highlighted how ‘it was brilliant’ for the player to attend the match to support his team-mates. It is understandable that Chelsea will want to paint the picture that things are not as bad as they seem.
In fairness, it is a view shared inside the camp. For example, one source close to a senior player — who, like all of those spoken to for this article, spoke anonymously to The Athletic to protect relationships — says the situation has calmed down significantly, with the international break also giving the group a great opportunity to reset. Players returned with a renewed focus on achieving the two targets remaining for the season: a top-five finish in the Premier League, which would qualify them for next season’s Champions League and winning the FA Cup.
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The same source says Fernandez is not causing a problem behind the scenes despite his suspension and that things have very much returned to normal. This has been helped by Fernandez issuing an apology to the club and his team-mates for his comments.
While all players are going to be frustrated when they are not picked, there is an appreciation from some players, according to sources close to the dressing room, of the manner in which Rosenior talks to squad members, and he is seen as a ‘nice guy’.
Another source close to a senior player admits Rosenior is yet to carry quite the same aura that predecessors Mauricio Pochettino and Maresca had in the dressing room, but there is an acknowledgement that he has only been at the helm for three months. Chelsea sources are keen to paint a positive picture that he has made a good impression on the players in the dressing room and in training. The club also see Rosenior as having a lot more managerial experience when he joined from Strasbourg at the start of the year, compared with Maresca when he was hired from Leicester in 2024. Meanwhile, another source close to a senior player says Rosenior has brought a nice vibe to the place.
There are inevitably going to be doubts in the fanbase over Rosenior’s long-term future, given recent results, especially the manner of their 8-2 defeat (on aggregate) to Paris Saint-Germain in the last 16 of the Champions League, as well as their 3-0 loss at Everton three weeks ago. However, multiple sources have stressed that Rosenior will remain in charge at Chelsea next season even if they miss out on qualifying for the Champions League.
One figure, who is not connected to the club, says that Rosenior’s handling of Fernandez sent a clear message that he is in charge and has the club’s full backing. “Rosenior has made his mark,” the source said. “He has shown that he can be friendly but also tough. Rosenior is not the type to hold grudges; he was a player himself. But this was a move to make a statement to the dressing room, that he is not scared to put you out of the team and the club is behind him.”
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Chelsea sources want to make it clear that the decision to suspend Fernandez was taken with Rosenior, the sporting directors, and the club fully aligned and was not the thought process of just an individual. Rosenior was the one to deliver the news to the player, but everyone on a senior level agreed that something had to be done.
But like with any manager or club going through a difficult period, results will either provide a cure or add to the turmoil. And herein lies the issue at hand. Chelsea have just seven league games remaining to secure a top-five finish and a place in the Champions League next season. Given they have just announced a Premier League record pre-tax loss of £262.4m for the year ending June 30, 2025, missing out on the financial rewards of Europe’s premier club competition would be a costly blow in terms of prize money.
Chelsea are currently in sixth place, one point behind Liverpool, and trail fourth-placed Aston Villa by a further five. With so few games remaining, they cannot afford to make many mistakes from here on in. The fixture list is far from easy. Starting with home matches versus the two Manchester clubs above them in the table (City are second, United are third), five of their matches are against sides in the top 11. The lowest-ranked of these are Sunderland, who are just five points behind and beat Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in October.
The other two games are against teams fighting relegation in Nottingham Forest and Tottenham, which will not be an easy proposition. There can be no question that these opponents will be giving their all rather than having one eye on their summer holidays.
Perhaps it is not surprising, then, that Opta’s supercomputer predicts Chelsea are most likely to finish the campaign in sixth spot (27 per cent), with fifth spot coming in at 24 per cent. It is a measure of their current status that ending up seventh (16 per cent) and eighth (10 per cent) is seen as more likely than climbing up to fourth (8 per cent).
The probabilities above will only get worse should they lose to Manchester City, a team they have not beaten in any competition (12 matches) for five years. Pep Guardiola’s side are favourites to keep that run going, having beaten Liverpool 4-0 in the FA Cup last weekend.
If Chelsea get all three points, the belief that they can put all the recent drama behind them and have a successful end to the campaign will be renewed. Lose, and the pressure will intensify all over again.
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