Defensively, Chelsea were not great in either of their first two Premier League games of the new season, conceding two goals on each occasion.
Nevertheless, one member of their backline has claimed that Enzo Maresca is still pleased with him.
Going forward, Chelsea have been much better, putting six past Wolverhampton Wanderers in a 6-2 win.
Noni Madueke scored a hat-trick that day, but pundit Alan Shearer was also impressed with Madueke’s defensive contribution.
Enzo Maresca happy with Robert Sanchez
Robert Sanchez was involved in one of Chelsea’s goals at Molineux, with his ball going straight to Nicolas Jackson, who flicked it on to Cole Palmer before the attacker lobbed Jose Sa.
He came under fire the game before that, though, with Gary Neville not convinced with Sanchez after watching him in Chelsea’s 2-0 defeat against Manchester City.
The 26-year-old, however, claims that his boss is happy with him. Speaking to Chelsea’s official website about Maresca and his style, he said: “At the end of the day, we want to build up from the back and play, but we also want to find the spare man, whether that’s at close range or in behind.
“We speak about a lot of things and I feel really comfortable in this position. I know that’s what he likes his goalkeeper to do since he arrived, so I’m very happy with what I’m doing, Maresca is happy and we’re going to keep doing the same.”
What has Enzo Maresca said about Robert Sanchez?
Maresca certainly does seem to be content with Sanchez right now. Chelsea bought a new goalkeeper earlier this month, Filip Jorgensen, but the Chelsea manager has made it clear that the former is his No.1.
“If the level continues to be the same, then probably Robert will be Premier League and Filip in the Conference League or the cups that we have,” Maresca recently said when talking about Sanchez.
If the Spaniard, who joined Chelsea from Brighton & Hove Albion last year in a £25m deal, is to remain in goal, though, then his distribution needs to improve.
It was a great ball to Jackson over the weekend, but Sanchez has been guilty of handing possession straight to the opposition when trying to play out. That is going to hurt Chelsea if it continues. It already did last season when he did it against Arsenal, which resulted in Declan Rice scoring against the Blues.
Chelsea fans will be hoping that the addition of Jorgensen will keep him on his toes and pushes him to another level.
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