Chelsea goalkeeper Robert Sanchez has been slammed by Blues journalist Simon Phillips for being a liability – as the Spaniard fell to a defeat between the sticks in Sunday’s 2-1 Premier League loss to Liverpool.
Sanchez’s hopes of a clean sheet were destroyed when Mohamed Salah fired past him from the penalty spot, and he looked to have given away another spot-kick for bringing Curtis Jones down in the area, before it was overturned by VAR. But he was beaten by the homegrown Reds star in the second half, and the defeat sees Chelsea fail to make the jump into the top four.
Sanchez ‘A Liability’ And Maresca’s ‘Incredible’ Call
Sanchez may be the difference between the Champions League
Posting midway though the first half, journalist Phillips labelled the Spaniard as a ‘liability’ for his actions – prior to the penalty that he originally gave away before it was overturned by VAR. Phillips began by stating:
“Robert Sanchez is a liability, this news is not new.”
And then, in the second half, he doubled down on his criticism of the former Brighton goalkeeper by stating that his occasional clangers could be the difference between a top four position and a mid-table offering.
| Robert Sanchez’s English football statistics – appearances by season | ||
|---|---|---|
| Season | Appearances | Clean sheets |
| 2018-19 – Forest Green (League Two) | 17 | 2 |
| 2019-20 – Rochdale (League One) | 26 | 6 |
| 2020-21 – Brighton (Premier League) | 27 | 10 |
| 2021-22 – Brighton (Premier League) | 37 | 11 |
| 2022-23 – Brighton (Premier League) | 23 | 6 |
| 2023-24 – Chelsea (Premier League) | 16 | 3 |
Tweeting just over an hour later and towards the end of the second half, Phillips added:
“Incredible how Chelsea have stuck with Sanchez. I understand why they have persisted with others, but a GK can literally win you 10 points in one season alone, that’s the difference between finishing top 4 or finishing top 10. It’s that simple.”
Robert Sanchez has been a mainstay for Chelsea
The Spaniard doesn’t seem to be on his way out of the first-team
Sanchez was Chelsea’s first-choice goalkeeper at the start of last season, featuring in their first 16 Premier League games as the Blues recorded just five wins in that time, with only three clean sheets.
Djorde Petrovic took his place and the Blues rose to sixth in the table under Mauricio Pochettino, with Petrovic keeping five clean sheets in that time with 13 wins from 22 games – though he was loaned out to Strasbourg in the summer with Sanchez preferred to go back into the starting XI.
Sanchez is now Chelsea’s first-choice in the Premier League, where he has kept two clean sheets and only conceded ten in eight top-flight outings in the current campaign. It has been an improvement for the Blues, though whether they persist with him remains to be seen.
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Statistics courtesy of WhoScored. Correct as of 20-10-24.
