Chelsea edged past a resilient Pafos side thanks to the loan goal scored by Moises Caicedo, which separated the two teams at the end of the ninety on Tuesday in the Champions League.  

The scoreline merely reflects the game's true story. Chelsea could have added a couple more goals on any other day. However, the visiting side's courageous defending kept the game alive until the final whistle blew.

Manager Liam Rosenior and the Chels started the game without two star performers: Marc Cucurella and Cole Palmer. The latter was reportedly out with a minor thigh injury. After the game ended at Stamford Bridge, Rosenior shared some positive updates on Palmer and his captain, Reece James.  

James was taken off by the English manager during the break, as Estevao was introduced in the second half, which seemingly caused a stir amongst the home fans, with their team unable to break the deadlock until the 77th minute.

Rosenior's comments during a post match interview (h/t METRO) has seemingly assured the fans for now as he explained James substitution saying, "[Managing] minutes. And making sure that he’s prepared for we’re playing Wednesday, Saturday, Wednesday, Saturday,", the gaffer also added, "And I want to make sure Reece is available as much as possible because he’s an outstanding player and he’s a leader in our group."  

The Chelsea boss also talked about Palmer's absence, saying, "Precautionary. He felt something really, really minor in the game against Brentford,

"It was actually quite early in the game, so credit to him to keep going through it, but I don’t want to risk any players at this stage, especially players of Cole’s quality."

Both James and Palmer have been unfortunately managing their injuries so far this season, which was also a major setback for former manager Enzo Maresca, who had to leave the club at the turn of the year as the team struggled under the Italian manager, with two of his top stars being unavailable for a number of games..

Palmer had been dealing with a groin injury since the Club World Cup, from which he recovered last month, but there is little doubt about the fact that the 23-year-old is yet to hit the gas this season, as he has scored only four goals in the league this season compared to his star of 15 goals and eight assists last season in the English top flight.

Rosenior undoubtedly has a fantastic side at his disposal, but a lot would depend on the availability of James and Palmer as the Blues gear up for a jam-packed couple of weeks ahead, which could decide their season altogether.

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