Rosenior Continues to Work Hard to Bring Chelsea to the Champions League Knockout Stage

Chelsea won a difficult victory when hosting the Cypriot team, Pafos, in the Champions League on Thursday, January 22, 2026, early morning WIB. The Blues only won 1-0 at Stamford Bridge through Moises Caicedo's single goal in the 78th minute.

The victory was very important for the Blues who want to maintain their position in the top eight of the Champions League standings to qualify automatically for the knockout phase.

Only, they still have one match left against the strong team Napoli next week. Chelsea's fate will be determined in Naples, whether they can qualify automatically or through the playoffs.

Seeing the situation, Chelsea manager Liam Rosenior said his team would not be intimidated by Napoli even though they knew it would be difficult to win.

Even though Napoli also needs a victory so that they do not fall in the league phase, Rosenior hopes that the precarious position of I Partenopei - outside the top 24 of the standings - can backfire for them.

"I think this club has never been afraid of any game. It will be a difficult game."

"Antonio Conte is an incredible coach. They have to win, which changes the dynamics of the game a little," said Rosenior.

Chelsea was actually quite comfortable welcoming the last match at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium. At the beginning, their position was almost on the edge if the single goal from Caicedo who snatched the ball from the chaos of the corner kick situation did not come.

Caicedo's header came in the final minutes, just when it seemed like a disappointing night would end in a damaging draw against the small team from Cyprus.

Previously, the home fans were relieved when Enzo Fernandez scored in the first half. However, the goal was annulled because the player was judged to have committed a foul with a push against a defender.

After that, the match became a battle between attack and defense. The disciplined defense of Pafos was not penetrated until the west London team experienced a tense 76 minutes.

"You have to keep knocking on the door (of the opponent's defense). You want to get a breakthrough early to open the game. The decision against Enzo was too hard."

"In the Premier League, it might have been considered a goal. Sometimes you have to keep going, keep knocking on doors, but you also have to keep the back door (defense) closed."

"There are things that make me happy, things that need to be improved. However, the team's body language, they keep fighting. I'm happy Moises scored a goal and got the result we deserved."

"Moises is an incredible player, a world-class midfielder. We always pose a threat in the dead ball. He's a top player."

"When you play against a tight defense, your pivot player can be higher on the pitch. He has scored several goals from outside the penalty area this season and hopefully he can continue to score goals."

"You always want to score more goals, want to win by a bigger margin," Rosenior said.

Furthermore, Rosenior emphasized that his team would still fight for victory at Napoli's home to ensure a place in the top eight of the Champions League standings.

"We are in the last eight. If we win (against Napoli), we have a fantastic chance to qualify," Rosenior said.