Chelsea were held to a draw at home to Nottingham Forest on Sunday afternoon, but one player proved his quality with an impressive individual performance.
Chelsea signed off for the international break with a 1-1 draw against Forest in the Premier League. As a result, the Blues know they’ll sit fourth in the division table during the next couple of weeks.
Chris Wood’s goal at the start of the second half put the visitors ahead at Stamford Bridge. However, Noni Madueke equalised quickly after with his fifth goal of the season across all competitions.
Forest were down to 10 men after James Ward Prowse’s sending off late on, but the sides ended up sharing the points after plenty of goalmouth drama in a lengthy stoppage time.
- READ MORE: What Noni Madueke did to Enzo Maresca immediately after scoring for Chelsea vs Nottingham Forest
Robert Sanchez starts his redemption
Chelsea goalkeeper Robert Sanchez delivered the kind of display versus Forest that he desperately needed after last week’s nightmare.
The 26-year-old gloveman produced a couple of howlers in last weekend’s league victory over Brighton. In fact, many Chelsea fans argued that Sanchez should be dropped from the starting XI.
Blues head coach Enzo Maresca kept with his first-choice goalkeeper for the league contest with Forest, and the player definitely repaid that faith.
Sanchez couldn’t do much about the Wood goal. However, he prevented 10-man Forest from snatching a late winner with a couple of incredible saves as he starts to redeem himself.
Chelsea’s keeeper denied a Neco Williams effort from close range at first, plus he was on hand to deny Jota Silva right at the death.
Alan Shearer called Sanchez “superb” for a performance versus Bournemouth last month. Well, he showed more heroics in the Blues goal again on Sunday.
Robert Sanchez stats against Nottingham Forest
FotMob data provided the individual statistics from Sanchez’s colossus performance at the weekend against Forest:
- Minutes played – 90
- Match rating – 7.8
- Saves – 8
- Goals conceded – 1
- Recoveries – 11
- Acted as sweeper – 1
- Touches – 39
- Accurate passes – 17/21 (81%)
As you can see above, Sanchez made eight saves in total. It’s worth flagging that a couple of them were truly outstanding interventions that looked destined for Forest goals.
Let’s hope that the Spanish shot-stopper can take this confidence moving forward because when he’s in the mood he’s a great option in-between the sticks. He’s going to need to put together a really consistent run of games before the doubters are completely silenced, though.
Receive a digest of our best Chelsea content each week direct to your mailbox
