Wednesday’s briefing: Blues beaten and Leicester down as EFL titles sealed

Brighton added to Liam Rosenior and Chelsea’s woes with a 3-0 thumping on Tuesday night.

Leicester, the 2016 Premier League champions, were relegated to League One, while Coventry and Lincoln were crowned champions of the second and third tiers respectively.

Rosenior seethes at ‘unacceptable’ loss

Chelsea fans turned on manager Liam Rosenior as the club’s slim hopes of Champions League qualification suffered another setback following a 3-0 thrashing at fellow European hopefuls Brighton.

Albion piled pressure on Blues boss Rosenior by leapfrogging their opponents into sixth place in the Premier League thanks to goals from Ferdi Kadioglu, Jack Hinshelwood and substitute Danny Welbeck.

Rosenior was the subject of X-rated chants from travelling supporters in the second half at the Amex Stadium before his side’s alarming losing run – and goal drought – stretched to five top-flight games.

With attacking trio Cole Palmer, Estevao and Joao Pedro sidelined through injury – news seemingly leaked earlier on social media in the day by full-back Marc Cucurella’s barber – Chelsea failed to register an attempt on target during an insipid display.

Rosenior said the performance was “by far” the worst of his tenure and added: “It was unacceptable in every aspect.

“I keep coming out and defending the players. That’s indefensible, that performance tonight.”

Leicester relegated as decline continues

Leicester were relegated to League One, 10 years on from their historic 5,000-1 Premier League title win, following a 2-2 draw with Hull.

The result, after Oli McBurnie’s equaliser, condemns them to the third tier for the first time since 2009 and memories of winning the Premier League under Claudio Ranieri, a run to the Champions League quarter-finals and an FA Cup victory will seem like distant memories.

Chairman Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha said in a statement: “Relegation to League One is now confirmed. As chairman, that responsibility sits with me. There are no excuses.

“We have experienced the highest highs and now the lowest lows, and the pain is shared by all of us. I am truly sorry for the disappointment we have caused.”

Manager Gary Rowett said: “Big decisions are going to have to be made, tough decisions will have to be made to get the club going back in the right direction.”

Coventry and Lincoln clinch titles

The Foxes’ emotions were in stark contrast to Coventry’s as the Sky Blues wrapped up the Championship title with an emphatic 5-1 victory over Portsmouth.

Ephron Mason-Clark scored a brace, with top scorer Haji Wright and Kaine Kesler-Hayden also on the scoresheet in addition to Regan Poole’s own goal.

Manager Frank Lampard said: “It’s right at the top of my career. I said it after Blackburn and to seal the title in the manner that we did, the way the team played from minute one, how we stepped it up in the second half.”

Lincoln were similarly celebrating after winning the League One title, Ben House’s double sealing a 2-0 win at Doncaster.

Imps boss Michael Skubala said: “The goal was to get promoted, but the way we’ve done it has definitely gone above and beyond everyone’s expectations and made some dreams come true.”

What’s on today?

Manchester City will move to the top of the Premier League if they beat Burnley at Turf Moor – a result which would also condemn the Clarets to relegation.

Elsewhere, Bournemouth host Leeds.

Ipswich will hope to reclaim second spot in the Championship with victory at relegation-threatened Charlton, but their opponents will ensure survival if they take at least a point. Blackburn can also avoid the drop if they win at Sheffield United.