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Rosenior keeping the faith despite woeful run

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Liam Rosenior bullishly replied "of course" when asked if Chelsea can still finish in the Champions League qualification places.

Chelsea went down 1-0 at home to Manchester United on Saturday, marking their fourth straight Premier League loss.

The Blues have not scored in any of those games, meaning they have lost four consecutive league matches without netting for the first time since 1998.

Chelsea are on 48 points in sixth place, five points behind Liverpool, who face Everton on Sunday, and their chances of qualifying for the Champions League are now down at 8%, according to Opta's supercomputer.

But Rosenior has not lost faith in his team or his tactics. Chelsea had 21 shots against a makeshift United defence, but only got three on target.

"It is so difficult," he told BBC Sport. "[United] had one shot on target.

"We had wave after wave of attack and hit the woodwork, I think, four times. I don't want my team to feel things are against us. We have to keep fighting.

"We have to defend that moment better. We don't and we get punished. At the moment, any small mistake we are making, the ball ends up in the back of our net and that has to change.

"It is about results and we haven't got the result we should have. The small things add up, but we have to keep working hard."

Chelsea's expected goals (1.55) compared to United's (0.29) is their biggest positive differential in a Premier League game (1.26) in which they have lost since September 2023 against Nottingham Forest (+1.54).

The Blues suffered their sixth home defeat in the Premier League this season, including each of their last three. Only in 1994-95 have Chelsea recorded more losses at Stamford Bridge in a Premier League campaign (seven).

It is just the second time in the 21st century that Chelsea have lost four consecutive league matches, after doing so under Frank Lampard in 2023.

Rosenior, though, insists he is not feeling under extra pressure.

"No. I put myself under the most pressure," he said.

"We just have to keep working with the staff and the players to turn things around."

Chelsea are back in action on Tuesday, facing Brighton, who are only a point behind them.