Chelsea have sacked head coach Liam Rosenior after 106 days in charge of the club.

Rosenior signed a five-and-a-half-year deal after arriving from French club Strasbourg, also owned by Chelsea co-owners Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital.

But he managed just 11 wins in 23 matches across all competitions and Tuesday’s 3-0 defeat at Brighton was Chelsea’s fifth consecutive league defeat without scoring, the club’s worst scoreless run since 1912.

Rosenior described the performance as “indefensible” and “unacceptable” after facing angry chants from Chelsea’s travelling supporters on the south coast.

The defeat led to the Blues slipping to seventh in the Premier League, seven points behind Liverpool who occupy the fifth and final Champions League spot.

“Liam has always conducted himself with the highest integrity and professionalism following his appointment midway through the season,” Chelsea said.

“This has not been a decision the club has taken lightly, however recent results and performances have fallen below the necessary standards with still so much more to play for this season.”

Sources have told BBC Sport that Bournemouth manager Andoni Iraola, Fulham head coach Marco Silva and former Dortmund boss Edin Terzic are under consideration as possible replacements for Rosenior.

Iraola, 43, announced last week that he will leave Bournemouth at the end of the season, while Silva’s contract at rivals Fulham is due to expire in July. Terzic, meanwhile, was under consideration by Tottenham to replace Thomas Frank when the Dane was sacked earlier this season.

Calum McFarlane will take over as interim manager until the end of the season.

McFarlane, who was Rosenior’s assistant, was in charge for a 1-1 draw against Manchester City and a defeat at Fulham in January after previous boss Enzo Maresca was sacked.

“As the club works to bring stability to the head coach position, we will undertake a process of self-reflection to make the right long-term appointment,” Chelsea added.

Rosenior won five of his 13 games in the Premier League and led the Blues to four victories in the FA Cup – all against lower-league opposition – to reach the semi-finals.

McFarlane’s first game in charge comes on Sunday when Chelsea face Leeds at Wembley for a place in the FA Cup final (15:00 BST).

Chelsea have lost five successive league games without scoring for the first time since November 1912.

Their overall five-game losing streak is their longest in the Premier League since November 1993.

Across each team’s past nine games in the Premier League, only Tottenham (two) have won fewer points than Chelsea’s five.

Chelsea have just one win from their past nine matches.

The Blues are now without a clean sheet in any of their past 12 league games – it is only the second time they have had as long a run in the competition.

Chelsea’s xG in the first half against Brighton (0.04) was lower than they had in any of Enzo Maresca’s 114 halves of top-flight football as Chelsea boss.

It was also the longest they have gone into a league game this season before attempting their first shot (41st minute).

Only West Ham (15) have conceded more goals from corners than Chelsea (11) in the Premier League this season, with 11 the joint-most for the Blues in a campaign in the competition (level with 1994-95).

I don’t think this is a surprise, especially for those of us who watched the damaging 3-0 defeat by Brighton on Tuesday. It was one-way traffic for the south coast team.

Rosenior’s appointment felt like a sensible decision, but you could have said ‘he might know the system inside Chelsea, but he’d only managed Strasbourg, Hull City and Derby County’. Did he have the experience to handle a club like Chelsea?

I think the owners would have thought he could learn it on the job and develop but it has eaten him up. Ultimately, it shows you might need a bit of gravitas to manage a club at the top of English football.

I saw comments from Chelsea’s co-owner Behdad Eghbali – who is quite influential – saying that they are looking for stability and a manager to stay long term. That was just before the Manchester United defeat; two more defeats and they are making a change.

I think they are looking for a long-term appointment but they have decided Rosenior can’t be the one.

Who is McFarlane?

McFarlane, 40, is in his first season as Chelsea academy coach after joining from Southampton last year.

He started his coaching career with non-league side Croydon and worked in Manchester City’s academy until 2023.

He crossed paths with Chelsea’s academy technical director Glenn van de Kraan – who was appointed from City in 2024 – during his four years at the Etihad. (BBC)

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