In the febrile atmosphere of one of the great old outposts of English football, on a day that had been defined by a stunning giant-killing, Liam Rosenior stood out as an island of calm authority on the occasion of his first game in charge as Chelsea manager.
His demeanour as he prowled his technical area on the touchline at The Valley was in stark contrast to the histrionics often exhibited by his predecessor, the recently departed Enzo Maresca.
There will be sterner tests for Rosenior than this FA Cup third round stroll against Nathan Jones’ struggling Championship side, of course, but the least that can be said about this 5-1 win was it was an assured start to his tenure.
Rosenior, who has signed a five-and-a-half year contract at Stamford Bridge, orchestrated this test perfectly. He had the courage to make eight changes from the team that lost its Premier League clash at Fulham last week and to show the faith in youth that was his trademark in his previous job at Strasbourg.
He will be tested more in the Carabao Cup semi-final against Arsenal on Wednesday but all he needed from this tie was to avoid an upset and Chelsea, for whom Facundo Buonanotte and Jamie Gittens excelled, achieved that with a degree of style.
Winning over the fans may take a little longer, even if their quarrel is with the Chelsea ownership. The Chelsea supporters in the Jimmy Seed Stand behind the goal made clear their displeasure with co-owner Behdad Eghbali and silencing those voices of opposition will take more than an away win at Charlton. 'You're not wanted here,' the supporters sang as a message to their co-owner.
Liam Rosenior stood out with calm authority during his first match in charge of Chelsea
He led his new side to a convincing 5-1 win over Charlton Athletic in the FA Cup third round
Tosin Adarabioyo was on the scoresheet for Chelsea, netting the second of the Rosenior era
There is still a sentimental thrill in the journey to The Valley, getting off the train at Charlton, walking down the hill from Charlton Church Lane and feeling the ghost of the majestic old East Terrace looming in the gloom, the way it used to be when Sam Bartram was the goalkeeper here.
Above the ticket office, there is a picture of Charlton’s Don Welsh being held aloft by his teammates, clutching the FA Cup trophy after he had led the team to victory in the competition in 1947. The ball burst in that final. And now Charlton’s manager Nathan Jones wanted to try to puncture Rosenior’s nascent ambitions.
There was much excitement at the ground for a match billed as the biggest FA Cup tie at The Valley since the 1970s. The sense of occasion even brought a different side out of Enzo Fernandez, the Chelsea midfielder, who is usually such an implacable adversary for opposing sides.
Fernandez was on the substitutes’ bench and as he walked off after the pre-match warm-up, he warmly applauded one of the Charlton juniors, a kid of about 10 or 11, who had just saved a stinging shot. Fernandez gave him a high-five. The young keeper looked like his day had been made.
Rosenior took his place in the dugout and prowled his technical area as his first game on the Chelsea touchline began. Within five minutes, he had witnessed his first booking: Benoit Badiashile was booked for hauling down Miles Leaburn.
He was also given a reminder of the antipathy Chelsea fans feel towards the BlueCo ownership of the club when they sang the name of former owner Roman Abramovich over and over again in the opening stages.
But things improved. Jamie Gittens looked sharp on the Chelsea right and had a shot beaten away by Will Mannion. Facundo Buonanotte lifted a fine pass into the area for Jorrel Hato to run on to but Hato could not get enough power in his header to trouble Mannion.
Marc Guiu, scorer of Chelsea's third goal, embraces Rosenior after an impressive performance
There will be sterner tests for Rosenior than this FA Cup third round stroll - the ex-Strasbourg head coach will be tested more in the Carabao Cup semi-final against Arsenal on Wednesday
Chelsea dominated possession throughout the half. Statistics showed they were enjoying more than 80% of the ball. But they could not do much with it. Gittens continued to be their most effective forward and late in the first half, he brought a fine save out of Mannion with a a low shot that was arrowing towards the corner.
Four minutes into seven minutes added time at the end of the half, time added for a delay for a medical emergency in the crowd near the start, Chelsea got the goal that their dominance deserved.
Charlton failed to clear a Chelsea ball into the box and as it bounced loose, it fell to Hato, who had been playing in midfield when his team were in possession, and he hit a sweet, rising shot that flew past Mannion into the top corner.
Five minutes after half time, Chelsea doubled their lead. Buonanotte whipped a free-kick from the Chelsea right into the box and Tosin glanced it expertly past Mannion from close range. The goalkeeper did not have a chance. The tie started to feel routine.
Chelsea relaxed into the game. Alejandro Garnacho curled a shot just wide and it seemed that they might score several more. Then, Charlton shattered Chelsea’s serenity. Filip Jorgensen saved well from a Lloyd Jones header but Leaburn pounced on the rebound and smashed it into the net.
The Valley was a cauldron now and the atmosphere was a test for Rosenior’s young charges but they came up with the perfect response. Within five minutes of Leaburn’s strike, Chelsea had restored their two-goal advantage.
Garnacho, who had been booed all night by the Charlton fans but had never stopped demanding the ball, rolled a cross into the box and when Mannion saved Buonanotte’s shot, Marc Guiu drilled the ball into the net for Chelsea’s third.
Pedro Neto, a late substitute for Garnacho, added an emphatic fourth in added time and after Estevao Willian was brought down in the box, Fernandez added a fifth from the spot with the last kick of the game.
Source: Daily Mail
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