Marc Cucurella’s barber appears to leak Chelsea team news before Brighton humiliation

Neither player made the bench for Chelsea’s match, as Liam Rosenior’s side stretched their winless run to five league games. They have not scored in that run, making it their worst run of form in 114 years.

Palmer played the full 90 minutes in Chelsea’s 1-0 defeat by Manchester United last Saturday. Pedro missed out with a thigh injury.

This is not the first time Chelsea have suffered from team leaks this season. Details of their team selection were leaked in the French media before both of their matches against Paris St-Germain in the Champions League.

Asked if he had discovered how the leak ahead of the games against PSG had come about, Rosenior said: “I’ll be really honest, I haven’t even thought about that. It’s not the first time it’s happened, it won’t be the last time.

“I’m not talking in terms of me, I’m talking about any team or any club. These things happen. It’s disappointing, but I’m sure it won’t happen again.”

Footage showed Rosenior holding his hand to his heart and appearing to apologise to travelling fans on Tuesday night after the defeat by Brighton. Players could be seen facing supporters and one fan unfurled a “BlueCo out” banner.

Away supporters chanted against Rosenior throughout the match with the Englishman under severe pressure following a downturn in results.

A furious Rosenior turned on his players and accused them of having an “unacceptable” attitude as they were humiliated on the south coast.

“It was unacceptable in every aspect of the game,” Rosenior said. “Unacceptable in attitude. I keep coming out and defending the players but that’s indefensible, that performance tonight. The manner of the goals we conceded, the amount of duels we lost, the lack of intensity in the team.

“Something needs to change drastically right now. We need to look in the mirror. I need to look in the mirror but I can’t keep coming out here defending some of the things we are seeing.

“We lost 80 per cent of duels. We didn’t win a header. Two of the goals came when we can head the ball, the basics of football, and we don’t. At any level, if you make those errors, you’re not going to win games of football.

“I haven’t criticised them up until now. I’ve defended them. They have deserved that. But I will tell the truth. I always come out here and tell the truth. And I blame myself as well. It’s not just blaming the players. I’m part of that process.”

Rosenior said any players who cannot handle the pressure and criticism that comes with representing Chelsea should not be at the club. He added that he understands the frustrations of the supporters who targeted him during the game.

“It’s my job as the head coach and the manager of the football club,” Rosenior said. “The buck stops with me. I have thick skin and I understand why the fans are frustrated. I’m frustrated with the performances we are putting in.

“What I need to do is look at how we go about games, the personnel of the team, who I can trust and rely on in difficult moments, because not enough players showed that today in the game.

“It’s not about playing for me. It’s about playing for the club. It’s about playing for the shirt. It’s about playing to win games of football. I can speak on what I saw tonight. You can read anything into it that you want, whether they’re playing for me or not, but that performance in itself was damning. It stood against everything that I believe in.

“I have always said I will be honest, and I’ve been honest with the players. I’m honest with you [the media], as honest as I can be. I’m not throwing anyone under the bus. That was an unacceptable performance. And I’m at the head of that.

“I’m managing Chelsea – criticism and pressure comes with the football club. So if you can’t handle that, then you shouldn’t be here. It’s as simple as that. And that’s something that needs to be addressed this week. But it also needs to be addressed in the long term.”

Trevoh Chalobah, the Chelsea defender, added: “We can be accountable. As players we have to be accountable for the performance. We know how much the fans have been behind us and we know they are disappointed with the results, not winning at the moment. We just have to stick together and pull through.

Click here to read article