Enzo Maresca was asked today about the performance of Robert Sanchez, the Chelsea goalkeeper who had a bit of a stinker in possession today, giving the ball away countless times.
But his manager defended him, in a way we’ve seen before:
“He also did so many good [things]. In the end, that is football. I am the guy who asks Robert to do that. And Robert is going to do that. In the moment he stops to do that, he is not going to play,” Maresca said.
“If Robert makes a mistake, it’s not Robert’s problem, it’s my mistake because I asked that from Robert. I am very happy with Robert and the way he is playing, building from the back. All the goal kicks we have and he passes the ball to Noni, and Pedro, that kind of ball that gives us many times chances to attack. Sometimes you make mistakes but it is not going to change the way we are going to play.”
Maresca’s defence of goalkeeper doesn’t match the sideline evidence
Just like last time, Maresca’s words don’t match up with his actions. He can tell us all he likes that he’s not frustrated with the goalkeeper – but the sight of him storming around the technical area tells a different story.
He may accept some errors are just a product of the way he’s asking Sanchez to play, but the reality is that there are many goalkeeper being asked to play in an even more risky fashion who don’t make far fewer errors than the Spaniard.
No matter what Maresca tells us, there’s no doubt that just like us, he’s identified this as a weak link in the team and will be asking those above him to sort it out.
