Matt Law’s piece for the Daily Telegraph today was a case of tidying up the loose ends from yesterday’s rather dull game at Old Trafford.
That meant first dealing with Cole Palmer’s potential knee injury (Law confirmed the starlet will need a knee scan), and also with the other major talking point of the day – the form of Robert Sanchez.
The Spanish goalkeeper was dropped into trouble yesterday when Wesley Fofana misjudged a header, but the stopper’s response to bring down Rasmus Hojlund when he really didn’t need to was frustrating. In a game where we weren’t giving much away to a limited Man U team, it really brought them into the game.
It’s not the first error he’s made this season, and a player who never really had the backing of the fans (and was dropped last season, let’s not forget) continues to have huge doubts about his ability.
Club back dodgy Sanchez who can become “one of the best”
But, perhaps having been briefed by people at the club who want to keep confidence high in their chosen number one, Matt Law is insisting there’s plenty of belief that remains in the goalkeeper.
“The feeling within the club is that Sánchez has all the ingredients to be one of the best goalkeepers in the Premier League and that his decision-making will eventually catch up with his talent,” Law claimed.
He also added that the thinking at Chelsea is that because Sanchez is “just” 26, he can still improve significantly with time and experience. We’re not sure a lot of Blues fans, who have seen him play plenty in the last 18 months, would agree.
For now, however, he’s still number one, and has lots of games left this season to show improvements.
Merescas arrogance and stuborness will stop Chelsea winning trophys and ultimatley cost him his job.
I think Law’s sources are being more than a little disingenuous. Sanchez fails the “eye test,” but, even more importantly at a club clearly basing a lot of its recruitment off of data, his stats don’t lie—he’s, at best, a very average keeper, and on his day he’s simply dreadful with the ball at his feet. Just check FBref.com. The only place where he truly shines is stopping penalties and coming from crosses. As a shotstopper he barely makes the saves you’d expect him to make and we all know how many goals his poor distribution has directly contributed to, so it seems farcical to believe sources inside the club aren’t seriously looking for a replacement. Bottom line: I think Law is being lied to.