Rosenior hails Chelsea star after dazzling display in FA Cup win over Hull
The Blues boss was full of praise for one player after his performance on Friday night.
Liam Rosenior congratulated Mamadou Sarr after the defender made his first start for Chelsea in 4-0 FA Cup win over Hullsaying the young centre-back had delivered exactly what he expected.
Chelsea brought Sarr back from his loan spell at Strasbourg earlier this month to strengthen their defensive options. The 20-year-old had impressed under Rosenior in Ligue 1 earlier in the season and arrived full of confidence after winning the Africa Cup of Nations with Senegal.
Having only made a brief appearance as a substitute during the Club World Cup, Sarr played the full 90 minutes at the MKM Stadium as Chelsea. advanced to the fifth round thanks to Pedro Neto's hat-trick and a goal from Estevao.
“Mamadou was everything I expected,” Rosenior said. “I know Mamadou so well.
“I think the acclimation and adaptation process for him will hopefully be quicker because he understands the way I want to play, and he already showed that today.”
Rosenior was keen not to single out individuals despite Sarr's clean sheet, instead emphasizing his team's overall performance.
“I just felt like it was a really, really good team performance and that's what makes me so happy tonight,” he said, highlighting the team's energy as well as the contribution of goalkeeper Robert Sanchez.
Cole Palmer was absent from the squad despite scoring four goals in his previous two matches, with the Chelsea boss explaining the decision was part of careful workload management.
“Handle it,” Rosenior said. “Great to see Reece back on the pitch. Great for him to get those 60 minutes.
“I had planned to give Enzo 45 minutes with Moi. I try to manage their minutes. In the end, I thought it was good that Moi stayed for 60 minutes.
“I’m delighted they all came through unscathed and now, for the first time in a long time, they have a full week to prepare for Burnley.”
2026-02-13 23:08:00
