‘Found wanting’: BBC pundit says £25m Chelsea player simply wasn’t good enough yesterday

Add as preferred source on Google

BBC Sport pundit Garth Crooks has suggested that Robert Sanchez cost Chelsea in their 1-0 defeat to Aston Villa yesterday.

Malo Gusto was sent off in the second half and Villa took advantage of that with Ollie Watkins netting after the right-back’s dismissal, but Crooks was not impressed with Robert Sanchez‘s goalkeeping for the goal.

In his BBC Sport Team of the Week column, the former Tottenham Hotspur forward wrote: “Robert Sanchez was also showing good form in the Chelsea goal but was eventually, like so many of his Chelsea team-mates, found wanting when Ollie Watkins’ effort went through his legs from a tight angle at the near post. Watkins shouldn’t be scoring from there.”

While Mauricio Pochettino may not have been happy with what he saw defensively for Watkins’ goal, he would not have been pleased watching the team’s attack either.

It is now another game where the Blues have been unable to find the back of the net.

Harsh on Robert Sanchez

Sanchez, who cost Chelsea £25m during the summer, definitely should have done better against Watkins’ shot and should not be getting beaten from such an angle.

Nevertheless, he was playing well up until that point, making some fine saves, while most of his team-mates had games to forget themselves.

Gusto was obviously sent off, which put Pochettino’s side at a huge disadvantage, and the forwards could not get past Emiliano Martinez.

Of course, the World Cup winner is a good goalkeeper, but Chelsea are having problems with every shot-stopper right now and have been for a while.

They scored just 38 goals in the Premier League last season, showing their lack of firepower. And it is that lack of firepower that is costing them at present, not Sanchez. Until that is sorted, expect more results like the one yesterday.