Liam Rosenior revealed that Estevao Willian was in tears at half-time after limping out of Chelsea’s defeat to Manchester United with a hamstring injury.
The teenage winger was hurt early on and had to be replaced in the 16th minute by former United man Alejandro Garnacho who was abused mercilessly by the away fans throughout the 1-0 defeat at Stamford Bridge.
‘He was devastated,’ said Rosenior. ‘He was crying at half-time. I’m really devastated for him. It looks like it’s his hamstring, and that’s a moment actually when he’s running through on their goal for a one-versus-one and pulls his hamstring in that moment. I hope Estevao comes back sooner rather than later.’
Enzo Fernandez also came off late in the game on his first appearance for two games after being dropped for disciplinary reasons, but Rosenior is hopeful the problem was only cramp.
Asked why he didn’t also make Fernandez captain in the absence of Reece James, the Chelsea boss replied: ‘The decision is we have a leadership group. I feel like wearing the armband is an honour for this club.
‘Enzo played like a captain today. I thought he was magnificent. He ran himself into the ground. He gave everything. He played forward. He was unlucky not to score on a couple of occasions.
‘I think that shows actually where he’s been with us all this while. I’m very, very happy with his performance. I’m very, very happy with him. Even though tonight we didn’t get the result that I felt we deserved or needed.’
Rosenior admitted that Chelsea have ‘a mountain to climb’ to qualify for the Champions League after losing to top-five rivals United.
Matheus Cunha scored from United’s only shot on target to keep Michael Carrick’s side on course for Europe, as Chelsea suffered a fourth straight league defeat without scoring for the first time since 1998.
‘It’s not insurmountable, but it gives us a mountain to climb,’ said Rosenior. ‘It’s a really difficult result to take. The reality is Manchester United have come here, had one shot on a goal and won a game 1-0, which should be pretty much impossible.
‘I can’t remember another chance they’ve had. We need to improve in that aspect if we’re going to give ourselves any chance to win a game of football.
‘I think we’ve hit the woodwork four or five times. What we can’t do is get into a cycle where we feel sorry for ourselves because we have to keep working. We have to turn this around.’
In contrast, Carrick was delighted with the way United bounced back from Monday’s defeat to Leeds at Old Trafford to boost their chances of Champions League qualification despite being without centre-backs Harry Maguire, Lisandro Martinez, Matthijs De Ligt and Leny Yoro through injury and suspension.
‘These are the moments we live for, for big games and big performances,’ said the United head coach. ‘That’s the beauty of football and the pure form of it. It was an important win in many ways – the suspensions, injuries, Leny pulling out quite late.
‘The coaches adapted and put a plan together and made sure everyone was in a good place. There were a lot of things to be proud of. We can play a little better at times, but we got the result.’
Kobbie Mainoo also had a starring role despite hardly training since missing the Leeds game through injury.
‘That was the best Kobbie has played since I’ve been back here,’ added Carrick. ‘To step up and show those sides to his game, he looked so composed and so calm. It was a good battle between him and Cole Palmer, and he showed good composure.’
United captain Bruno Fernandes was their man of the match once again after setting up Cunha’s goal, and he was delighted to take a step closer to Champions League qualification.
‘I feel three points closer,’ said Fernandes. ‘We have another game that we have to win. We know we need points to get that place secured, and we will do everything possible to be as quick as possible.
‘It’s an amazing feeling for us, we had to bounce back, not just about Leeds, we had two games that we didn’t win. We knew we had to make a great performance because Chelsea are a good side. It’s important for us because our aim is to be top four – making distance is perfect for us.’
