Enzo Maresca has raised the prospect of dropping Robert Sanchez after Chelsea’s goalkeeper suffered another high-profile error in defeat at Manchester City.
Sanchez erratically rushed out to gift Erling Haaland City’s second of a 3-1 victory, a result which takes the defending champions to fourth in the Premier League.
The Spain international has now made five errors contributing to goals so far this season and Maresca has twice taken him out of the firing line already.
Filip Jorgensen took the gloves for wins over Southampton and Ipswich and could be in line to start when Chelsea host West Ham a week on Monday (TOMORROW).
‘We trust Robert for sure but in the same moment he is aware that he is making mistakes,’ Maresca said.
‘We continue to trust Robert but we have an entire week, see the reaction and decide for the next games.’
Robert Sanchez (left) could find himself dropped by Enzo Maresca for Chelsea’s next game
Sanchez rushed out of goal recklessly which allowed Erling Haaland to lift the ball over him
Maresca admitted pre-match that Sanchez is ‘still far, far away from where I want him to be’ and the 27-year-old’s long-term future appears under threat.
‘Robert for sure is completely aware that he has to do better,’ the Chelsea boss added.
‘He knows perfectly. In this moment it’s like this. He’s the first to know that he has to do better.’
The Sanchez gaffe overshadowed a difficult debut for City’s new £33million central defender Abdukodir Khusanov, whose hapless header gave Noni Madueke an early opener.
The Uzbekistan international, 20, nervously gave away possession and was booked for tripping up Cole Palmer, with City’s players shielding the youngster until he was substituted in the second half.
Pep Guardiola didn’t speak to Khusanov after the game because of their language barrier but praised the response of his team mates after the second-minute mistake on debut. Bernardo Silva rushed up to him immediately after the goal.
‘He knows he made a mistake,’ Guardiola said. ‘He’ll take a lesson. He’s so young. It’s not easy against these incredible players of Chelsea.
‘I loved the reaction of his mates. He’ll learn. I made the substitution for the yellow card he had, not the mistake.
Maresca said bluntly that the Chelsea goalkeeper is ‘aware’ that he is not meeting standards
‘We came back emotionally. Maybe we weren’t exceptional, we missed a little bit with the high line – we didn’t find players in behind (enough) – but the situation we’re in, a 3-1 win against Chelsea and against a friend I admire, is really important.’
Another debutant, the £59m forward Omar Marmoush from Eintracht Frankfurt, was impressive and earned praise from Haaland.
‘I have seen him in Bundesliga and watched him,’ Haaland said. ‘It is going to be fantastic playing with him. You can see has something special. I am looking forward to playing with him and it is going to be really good.’
