Chelsea close in on Champions League progress as Liam Rosenior dodges €1.1b upset vs Pafos FC

Liam Rosenior became the first Chelsea manager appointed under the Clearlake regime to win his first Champions League game in charge, but the Blues head coach was made to sweat in their 1-0 victory over Pafos FC on Wednesday night. Graham Potter, Frank Lampard (during his interim spell) and Enzo Maresca had all failed to get off to a winning start. However, Rosenior ensured there would be no repeat as his side showed their belief and mental strength to find a winner against their resilient Cypriot opponents, having been frustrated for much of the evening.

Pafos defended resolutely in the early moments of the half, although Enzo Fernández did find the back of the net with a guided header - only to hear the referee's whistle to disallow the goal for a push on Derrick Luckassen. Then Pafos had a great opportunity to silence the home crowd, with Jaja's deflected effort bouncing back off the post. That scare appeared to give Chelsea a wake-up call. The Blues took control of possession and began to pepper the Pafos goal, with Estêvão's volley saved well by goalkeeper Jay Gorter.

The Dutchman continued to pull off save after save, tipping wide from Moises Caicedo and denying the Ecuadorian on two more occasions, as well as Jorrel Hato. But after Rosenior turned to his bench, Chelsea found an extra gear and finally broke the deadlock with 78 minutes on the clock. Neto's corner was flicked on at the near post and Caicedo reacted first to nod it home. Few could say it wasn't deserved, but the relief was palpable around Stamford Bridge.

Rosenior's chance to impress

The game marked Rosenior's first-ever Champions League game, and the strong lineup suggested he was determined to win. The ex-Strasbourg boss had a golden opportunity to mark his stamp in west London, given that three previous managers Potter, Lampard and Maresca all failed to claim victory in their first game at the helm in Europe's premier club competition.

Potter oversaw a 1-1 draw with Red Bull Salzburg in September 2022, Lampard's Chelsea were overpowered by eventual winners Real Madrid in April 2023 and Maresca's side got a taste of a Bayern Munich's dominance in a 3-1 defeat in Munich. There is no doubt Rosenior had the easiest fixture on paper out of the four bosses, but it's also fair to say that there are no easy games in the modern era of the Champions League.

Pafos came into this game having already exceeded expectations in their maiden campaign, stunning Villarreal with a 1-0 victory in Cyprus and earning respectable points in draws with AS Monaco (2-2) and Olympiacos (0-0) respectively. Their only defeats came against Bayern and Juventus, fixtures they were widely expected to lose anyway. The vast majority of fans predicted Chelsea to overwhelm them, but the scoreline showed that wasn't the case.

€1.1b gulf in squad market value

Despite the fixture representing the biggest gap in squad market value in Chelsea's Champions League history - €1.13 billion to be exact - Pafos gave a good account of themselves. Chelsea's €1.17b-valued squad is littered with star names such as Caicedo, Enzo Fernández and Cole Palmer, while Pafos' roster worth €30.8 million contains a blend of European and South American journeymen - and only three members of their squad actually hail from Cyprus.

David Luiz, now 38, appeared 29 times in the Champions League for Chelsea but found himself in the opposition dugout. The Brazilian famously played in Munich back in May 2012 when Chelsea beat Bayern Munich on penalties to win their first European Cup. Luiz was one of the players at the heart of their defensive effort that night, but he was denied a Stamford Bridge homecoming as he was an unused substitute by Albert Celades.

With the backdrop of former Chelsea players, the gulf in squad market value and the first Champions League test for Rosenior, this could have easily been a difficult night for the new boss. Instead, he celebrated his third win in four games and became the first manager in five years to win their first Champions League game.

Having already achieved what his predecessors couldn't, he is starting to prove those figures wrong who suggested he wasn't equipped to handle a job of this size, with Chelsea on course to finish in the top-eight if they beat Napoli on Matchday 8.