Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca may have unearthed a problem in his starting XI that could stop the west London outfit from launching a serious challenge for the Premier League title. The Blues sit third in the table, nine points adrift of leaders Liverpool.
But Maresca has been left to rue mistakes from his No.1 goalkeeper, Robert Sanchez, in recent draws with Manchester United and Arsenal.
At Old Trafford, the Spaniard brought down Rasmus Hoijlund as the Dane appeared to be going away from goal, duly giving away the penalty from which Bruno Fernandes scored. And on Sunday, he was beaten at his near post by Gabriel Martinelli as the Blues again fell behind.
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The 26-year-old has now made three errors directly leading to goals in the league this season. No other player has committed that many in Europe’s top five leagues - that includes La Liga, Series A, Ligue 1 and the Bundesliga.
It could force Maresca to dip into the transfer market in January.
According to reports, Chelsea are now tracking Porto keeper Diogo Costa, and have also been linked to Leicester stopper Mads Hermansen. The Dane played 44 times under the Italian boss as the Foxes won the Championship title in 2023/24.
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Maresca was initially expected to go back in for his ex-player in the summer, although the London club appeared to be put off by the £35m asking price. The ex-Brondby man, 24, has established a reputation for being able to play out from the back, an area where Sanchez appears to struggle.
Instead, Filip Jorgensen came on board from Villarreal, although the 22-year-old has been confined to cup action so far. While the manager may be unwilling to further tinker his squad following a chaotic summer, he will be all too aware the form of Sanchez is currently restricting Chelsea’s progress.
He joined the club from Brighton in the summer of 2023 for a £25m fee. Injury problems in his debut season at Stamford Bridge restricted him to just 16 Premier League games, but negotiating a quick exit won’t be easy for club chiefs given his contract runs until 2030.
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Despite reports Maresca wants to address the problem, he has publicly defended Sanchez. And he ’s taken responsibility for the keeper’s frequent mistakes in possession, claiming he is only following team orders.
“I am the guy who asks Robert to do that (play from the back),” he said last month. “And Robert is going to do that. The moment he stops to do that, he is not going to play. If Robert makes a mistake, it’s not Robert’s problem, it’s my mistake because I asked that from Robert.”
