Charlton 1-5Chelsea

Liam Rosenior won his first match as Chelsea’s new head coach, beating Charlton 5-1 in the FA Cup third round.

In his pre-match press conference, the Blues boss urged fans to judge him on his performances and results, and got off to a good start with a win at The Valley.

He opted for a young starting XI – as many Premier League teams do at this stage of the competition – and his side saw plenty of ball and pressure around the Charlton area throughout the first half.

Addicks keeper Will Mannion – making only his second appearance of the season – also worked, but Charlton’s low block was a clear frustration for a Chelsea XI who love to show off their tricks.

It was going to take a moment of magic to break through, and that’s exactly what happened in the fourth minute of added time of the first half. A cross from Moises Caicedo was kindly cleared into the path of Jorrel Hato and his fierce shot from a tight angle flew past the goalkeeper.

Chelsea added another five minutes after the break. Facundo Buonanotte sent a nasty free kick, which Tosin Adarabioyo nodded away.

But Charlton were not about to make life easy for Chelsea or Rosenior, and halved the deficit soon after, delighting the fans. It came from a corner, Lloyd Jones’ header bouncing into the path of Miles Leaburn. The Addicks Academy graduate then fired at close range.

But The Valley’s roar subsided just after the hour mark as Chelsea regained their two-goal lead. Alejandro Garnacho – who was booed by Charlton supporters all evening – raced down the pitch before finding Buonanotte. His shot was weak but Mannion’s save landed directly at Marc Guiu, who headed home.

Charlton were denied a late penalty as Enzo Fernandez appeared to go through the back of Lloyd Jones, but referee Chris Kavanagh dismissed the claims. But after Pedro Neto scored Chelsea’s fourth goal, the referee awarded the Blues a late spot-kick.

Estevao was fouled while trying to get around Mannion, and Kavanagh pointed to the spot. With the final kick of the match, Fernandez powered his penalty into the back of the net to book Chelsea’s place in Monday’s fourth round draw.

Despite a spirited performance from Charlton, their dismal run to the third round of the competition continues, now exiting at this stage for a sixth successive season.

Rosenior: A good start

Chelsea head coach Liam Rosenior has TNT Sports: “A good start. Professional.

“I thought the first goal came at an important moment in the match. Charlton recovered very well, they defended in a block that was difficult to break.

“Jorrel was fantastic. I thought he was really good at Fulham, he deserved to play today. A solid performance from him.

“We scored a goal from a set piece, which is always nice. Then we concede, but I said it from the start, the quality of my players, they are exceptional. A good start, something to build on, to bring on Wednesday night.

“Goals change games, and it comes down to quality. We had control in the first half, but I don’t just want control. Scoring the goal was really good – but when Charlton score they want the second.

“It’s a cup tie, and they have to deal with me bringing in Estevao, Enzo Fernandez, Liam Delap, but I was delighted with the starting players. I thought Marc Guiu was good and deserved his goal – Jamie [Gittens} and Ale [Garnacho] were really good on the wings. It’s a good start but there’s nothing to get excited about yet.

“It’s something that’s happened here before. I was delighted with Jorrel – he played as a No.10, he scored his goal really well. I was delighted to have Tosin and Big Ben at the back. I could really run through the whole team, but I was delighted with that.

“It’s a busy couple of months, but the last 48 hours I was really happy. The guys were very receptive. If we keep working like this, I’m excited for the future.”

What did we learn from Rosenior’s first game?

Analysis from Sky Sports’ Charlotte Marsh at The Valley and Noah Langford:

It was perhaps a bit of a false positive watching Liam Rosenior’s first team at Chelsea, having made eight changes since the defeat at Fulham and left many of his young players bleeding.

Perhaps the biggest difference was the use of a three-man defense, which was his preferred formation at Strasbourg. In a season where jobs depend on the makeup of a defense, it will be interesting to see if he persists on this path or if it’s a case of “stick to what you know” for the first game.

That being said, there certainly seems to be more of an emphasis on winger usage than in recent games.

Tosin was dishing out passes throughout the match, and Jamie Gittens and Garnacho felt more involved compared to previous matches.

There were times too during the early exchanges where some pretty balls were attempted through the middle to try and find Guiu, but this quickly ended when he proved ineffective.

But the youngsters certainly weren’t afraid to play straight at Charlton, even if it’s not the best way to try and beat a low block. Of course, the score might say otherwise, but there was at least a feeling of trying to make something happen.

Asked if his team was close to where he wanted them to be – with a wry smile – Rosenior replied: “I’m one game in. Some of our passes were beautiful to watch. We have magnificent players.

“My idea of ​​football is not important. It’s about winning football games consistently. It’s a good start, but it’s just a start. We have to stay consistent now in a very, very busy schedule.

“We are a good team. They were well trained, I didn’t hide it.

“There are other elements to football than tactics. Tactics is one element. Form, systems, technique, they’re all wonderful things.

“But there are other things that I think we can maybe improve on. That’s what we will continue to work on as well as the tactical side of the game.”

Ultimately, we’ll have a better idea of ​​where he intends to take this Chelsea side when they face Arsenal in the Carabao Cup semi-final first leg in midweek and Brentford in the Premier League on Saturday.

A good start from Rosenior but there is still a lot to prove.

Jones disappointed after conceding schoolboy goals

Manager of Charlton Nathan Jones: “For long periods we competed very well. My biggest disappointment is only the second and third goals because late on they play brilliantly and I think the fifth goal is not a pen, it’s a decision.

“The fourth goal we’re a little bit open but the second and third goals really kill us and they’re schoolboys, they’re poor.

“We can’t concede a goal from this type of set play and we do the job and it’s just too easy for them to get ahead.

“The third goal really disappoints me because these are things we work on, we preach to them, we show them, we blow it up, we give them clear pictures on the edge of the box and how we defend counter-attacks and we don’t drop and think it’s a safe haven when we completely drop into a box when people are waiting on the edge of the box.

“We’ve conceded that in the past and that’s our frustration, because just when we were thinking ‘can we wake up’, we do something that actually costs us the game.”