“I have banished him from my squad till further notice as a result of the punishable errors he made yesterday”: Enzo Maresca bans ONE Chelsea’s bug name player from the squad amid the punishable error against Liverpool yesterday
Chelsea’s seven-match unbeaten run in all competitions came crashing to an end on Sunday as they lost 2-1 to Liverpool at Anfield in the Premier League.
The Blues had not lost a game since their 2-1 defeat to Servette in a Europa Conference League play-off clash in August, and had not lost in the league since they were beaten by Manchester City on the opening day of the 2024/25 campaign.
Mo Salah gave Liverpool the lead from the penalty spot after 29 minutes. Levi Colwill clumsily caught Curtis Jones inside the box and gave the referee no choice but to award the spot-kick.
Enzo Maresca’s side rallied well, however, after the half-time break and equalised in the 48th minute. Nicolas Jackson bent his run brilliantly to stay onside and finished superbly under pressure from Moises Caicedo’s through ball.
The Blues let themselves down just three minutes later, though, as their entire defence switched off and allowed Curtis Jones to run in-behind, from Mo Salah’s pass, and slot the ball past Robert Sanchez.
Chelsea were unable to get themselves back into the game over the next 40 minutes or so and the manager must now make some ruthless changes to his team, starting between the sticks.
Why Robert Sanchez should be dropped
The Spanish goalkeeper must be ruthlessly ditched from the starting XI in the upcoming Europa Conference League game, and for the club’s next Premier League match.
Chelsea host Newcastle United at Stamford Bridge in the league next weekend and their clash with Panathinaikos on Thursday is a good opportunity to hand players an audition to start in that game.
Filip Jorgensen could secure a place in the starting line-up for the clash with the Magpies with a strong performance against the Greek side, given Sanchez’s disappointing form this term.
The former Brighton & Hove Albion flop made several sloppy passes out from the back, completing 81% of his attempted passes, and was far too hesitant in coming out to challenge Jones, making it easy for the midfielder to score the winner.
It is far from his first questionable performance in a Chelsea shirt this season, either, as the 26-year-old dud has made two errors that have directly led to goals and given away a penalty in eight Premier League appearances.
The underperforming Spaniard has also lost 50% of his ground duels in the division, which shows that he has not been convincing when coming out to claim the ball – as shown in the controversial incident with Jones in the first half on Sunday.
As you can see in the clip above, the goalkeeper appeared to bring the midfielder down at first glance and a penalty was awarded, but the replays showed that he did get the slightest touch on the ball and the penalty was overturned.
Maresca must now drop him from the starting XI for Jorgensen, provided the goalkeeper puts in a solid display on Thursday night, against Newcastle next weekend.
