“How many times has Moi [Caicedo] missed a pass? Many times. How many times does Nico [Jackson] miss a goal? Many times. How many times does Noni [Madueke] miss a cross? Many times, It is not something strange, it is part of the job.”

The above excerpts is from Maresca’s pre-City game press conference where he defended 27-year old goalie, Robert Sanchez. 

After committing his forth error directly leading to a goal against Wolves on Monday, Sanchez continued his disastrous run today with a fifth error directly leading to a goal for the opponent.

Sanchez has now made the most errors leading to a goal out of every player in the Premier League.

Despite this stat and having the option of 22-year old Danish goalkeeper Filip Jörgensen on the bench, Enzo Maresca appears made up on his choice for the team’s ‘number 1’. 

Completing just 21 from 39 attempted passes with a 54% accuracy, Sanchez’s horror-show at the Etihad Stadium should bare consequences if Maresca hopes to make any desirable progress this season as the race for top-4 heats up with must-win games coming up for the Blues. 

The decision to bring Sanchez in was wrong in the first place. He’s not going to improve, he’s 27 and is what he is. He’s always been a goalkeeper that has made mistakes.

Perhaps fans should turn their anger towards Paul Winstanley and Ben Roberts, former goalkeeper coach now promoted to head of global goalkeeping, whom both decided Sanchez would be a top keeper for Chelsea.

A run of just one win in seven league matches has put a dent on Enzo Maresca’s impressive start and if the Italian persists with his choice of Rob Sanchez in goal, Chelsea’s struggles might just continue for a while more.