The club are in a decent position but there is dissatisfaction with the ownership and the new head coach must not get caught in the crossfire

The way Chelsea are run will come as no surprise to Liam Rosenior. He has longstanding relationships with three of the five sporting directors and will know from his time at Strasbourg, who are part of the same ownership, that the head coach’s best chance of surviving is not to make the mistake of rebelling against the structure.

Rosenior will have to show more political savvy than Enzo Maresca, who talked himself out of the job last week. Yet given the 41‑year‑old is familiar with the working conditions at BlueCo, the investment vehicle that owns Chelsea and Strasbourg, his biggest challenge is unlikely to be managing upwards. Rosenior will know where to train his focus and not to rock the boat. Crucially, he does not inherit a team in crisis. Chelsea are fifth and earned a creditable draw at Manchester City on Sunday; despite the rancour of Maresca’s final days, this is not a situation that calls for a major rebuild.

• He arrives from Strasbourg to replace Enzo Maresca

• ‘I cannot turn down Chelsea,’ says former Hull coach

Liam Rosenior has been confirmed as Chelsea’s head coach on a contract to 2032, describing the opportunity to replace Enzo Maresca at Stamford Bridge as one he could not turn down.

Rosenior has left Strasbourg, Chelsea’s partner club, after holding talks over the role on Monday. He said at a Strasbourg press conference on Tuesday: “I have had interest from many clubs, including Champions League clubs, which I have always been open with to [our president] Marc [Keller] and our ownership. I will love this club for the rest of my life but I cannot turn down Chelsea.”

• Strasbourg manager, 41, to have talks on Monday

• He could be in place before Wednesday’s game at Fulham

Chelsea are closing in on the appointment of Liam Rosenior after the Strasbourg manager flew to London to hold talks over the role.

The 41-year-old is due to meet with the west London club on Monday and it is expected that discussions will end with him agreeing to replace Enzo Maresca, who left Stamford Bridge in acrimonious circumstances earlier this.

Perhaps they underestimated Harrison Reed. Certainly there was little reaction when the ball came back to the Fulham substitute with 97 ­minutes gone. Liverpool ­simply stood off, almost daring Reed to shoot, and they rued their lack of urgency when one of Fulham’s more unfashionable ­players rescued a point for Marco ­Silva’s ­stubborn side by ­ripping a stunning shot into ­Alisson’s top corner.

It was a jawdropping moment – after all, it was only the scurrying 30-year-old midfielder’s fourth goal in six years in west London – and it spoke to some of Liverpool’s issues this season. The champions were vague in attack despite scoring twice and, where once there was the determination to force themselves over the line, here there was only defensive inertia when the task was to hold on after going 2-1 up through Cody Gakpo in the fourth minute of ­stoppage time.