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Every word Liam Rosenior said on 'special' Estevao Willian, Andrey Santos' new role, Chelsea win
Football | January 26, 2026 5:39 AM CST

Liam Rosenior has just finished his post-match press conference following Chelsea's 3-1 victory against Crystal Palace on Sunday afternoon.

Estevao Willian, Joao Pedro and Enzo Fernandez all scored for the Blues to give them a three-goal advantage at Selhurst Park. Adam Wharton was then sent off for the Eagles before Chris Richards grabbed a consolation goal late on.

Rosenior has just reflected on his side's third successive win. Below is every word the Chelsea head coach had to say:

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What does that goal say about Estevao and his talent?

He's a player with special abilities, special talent. He's been ill, and every time he's been on the pitch so far with me, I think he's been outstanding. But I feel if you watch that goal, what makes me so happy is all 11 men are back behind the ball. That's why he gets the space. I don't want to talk too much about individuals. I thought it was a top team performance away from home, from Joao Pedro pressing, Pedro Neto and Estevao from the front, the two midfield players, Andrey Santos tactically, and then the defenders had to defend really, really well against the presence of Mateta. So yeah, Estevao, so happy with him, but so happy with the whole team.

The fans were singing your name post-match. Are you starting to feel more of a connection with them?

I hope so. I'm very happy to be here. It's a fantastic club with fantastic supporters. As I said, it's two-way. I have to earn that. I'm aware of that. Not just me, my staff, the players, the team, in our performances, and I hope over time I'll see that something good may happen here. The reason I get that today was the hard work of everyone on the training pitch, the hard work of the players on the pitch. It's not about me. Hopefully I can, myself and the staff and the players, make them really happy in the days to come.

Are your players now starting to understand your style and ideas more?

I think today was a huge test. I changed the shape of the play. It's hard to explain. It's like a semi-four or semi-five at the back with Andrey in between. For them to go and put on, from a tactical point of view, the performance that they did in two days makes me very pleased because pretty much 95% of the press and 95% of the positioning was absolutely perfect. They're engaged. I think they're believing in what they're doing. It's one game. We have to make sure that we're consistent in every game we play.

Are you relieved that it's gone so well so far in terms of results because I guess in another circumstance it might not have gone that well?

Ifs and buts. I can't talk about what hasn't happened. I'm focused on the next game. You can't get carried away and there's still things that we really need to correct quickly. I think it's a foul the goal that we conceded but it's another goal from a set play. It was not happy with our last 10 minutes. I felt we should have gone on to dominate the game further in that moment. I'm not thinking about being relieved or how I'm feeling. I'm just focused on the job. That's really, really important. We've got another huge game on Wednesday.

Pleased with Andrey Santos playing so well in his role today?

Yeah, amazing. I'm lucky with Andrey because he's done it for me before. He's done that same position against Marseille and PSG last year but for the other players to take on board the information, that's a different shape. They've never played that shape before. I thought the front three were magnificent in their understanding and their angles of press. I felt Enzo and Moi [Caicedo] in midfield. The beauty of having Andrey there allowed Moi to stay in the middle of the pitch where I love him to be and him and Enzo at the top. I'm very happy because they put into practise what we asked of them on the training pitch and that's a really good sign.

Conceding the first chance and the first chance and a turnover when you're playing out, is that a sign that it is going to take more time?

It's a game of mistakes. It's going to take time. Some of our play, especially in the second half, was magnificent through the lines and our understanding of the build will improve with the repetition but like I say, we want to improve but we want to win now and then that has to be the focus on Wednesday. I think there's many aspects.

You've mentioned Estevao needs to be looked after carefully. How are you and the club making sure that is the case?

Firstly, off the pitch, I know his family are here with him. I know the club have worked really, really hard for him to settle. I also know that Andrey Santos and Joao Pedro have helped him especially settle into this country. In terms of on the pitch, with an 18-year-old with a talent like his, you have to manage his minutes. You have to manage the games that you think are the right moments for him to have an impact and I'll keep doing that because I want him to have an outstanding season. I want him to have an outstanding career as well.

Was some of the football today what you want to see from your team?

This team played great football before me. They played similar passages before me. I'd like to see that type of football. I'd like to see combination play. I thought the two goals were great team goals. I'd like to see a change of speed but I also like intensity and hard work and I was really, really pleased with those aspects. It's not about it being my team, a Liam Rosenior team. It's about being a winning team and I was really, really happy with the performance today.

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