I saw ‘superb’ player put Chelsea firmly in the title race with match-winning display vs Brentford

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If Chelsea were not in the title race before their win against Brentford, they are now.

Chelsea beat their west London rivals 2-1 on Sunday to close the gap at the top of the Premier League table to just two points.

Position	Team	Played MP	Won W	Drawn D	Lost L	For GF	Against GA	Diff GD	Points Pts
1	LiverpoolLiverpool	15	11	3	1	31	13	18	36
2	ChelseaChelsea	16	10	4	2	37	19	18	34
3	ArsenalArsenal	16	8	6	2	29	15	14	30
4	Nottm ForestNottingham Forest	16	8	4	4	21	19	2	28
5	Man CityManchester City	16	8	3	5	28	23	5	27
6	Aston VillaAston Villa	16	7	4	5	24	25	-1	25

Enzo Maresca continues to deny that his side are in the title race, but right now they are keeping pace with Liverpool.

The likes of Cole Palmer and Nicolas Jackson are firing them to wins, while Robert Sanchez put in an excellent performance against Thomas Frank’s men. Frank himself thinks Chelsea can win the title come May.

Robert Sanchez pivotal in Chelsea earning vital three points against Brentford

If Chelsea do want to push Liverpool all of the way, then they cannot afford to drop points at home to bottom-half teams like Brentford.

That did not happen on Sunday, and Chelsea have Sanchez to partly thank for that. The goalkeeper has been criticised for some of the mistakes that he has made this season but was excellent against the Bees.

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There was one acrobatic save that Sanchez made that was absolutely sensational. Had he not performed it, the Blues would have dropped points.

In total, the 27-year-old made three saves and six high claims. It was a really commanding performance.

It is not the first time that he has impressed this season. Alan Shearer thought Sanchez was “superb” in Chelsea’s 1-0 win against Bournemouth back in September.

What did Enzo Maresca make of Robert Sanchez’s performance?

Maresca will feel that his decision to make Sanchez Chelsea’s No.1 ahead of Filip Jorgensen was vindicated further after his display in Sunday’s west London derby.

He praised the Spaniard after the game, saying to football.london and other media outlets: “If you remember, Bournemouth away, the penalty, against Aston Villa one-v-one against [Ollie] Watkins and Nottingham Forest at the end of the game, the save. Tonight, the save. We are happy with Robert, sometimes when we say things, you struggle to believe.

“But Robert is doing fantastic, Filip is doing exactly the same in the Conference League. This is what we want; two goalkeepers that can compete and help us win games.”

If Chelsea had lost that match, people would have questioned their title credentials. But they won it, partly because of Sanchez, putting them in the conversation for many.

Next up for Sanchez and Chelsea in the Premier League is a trip to Goodison Park to face Everton.