🇪🇸 1. Robert Sanchez

[Strike 7,610]

On 21/09/2025 at 05:45, DDA said:

Just when i find the strength to actually say a few positive words on this absolute fraud of a goalkeeper he goes a does that…. 
 

never again will i fold for these ‘everythings fine’ bunch and stick to my ball knowledge and call it for what it is… 

this guy is an utter embarrassment 

This was really an aberration looking back

[Vesper 30,502]

Robert Sanchez is looking like a reliable No 1 for Chelsea – he’s cut out the mistakes

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6850736/2025/12/01/robert-sanchez-Chelsea-analysis/

 

Perhaps this time, there will not be such an outcry if Chelsea do not sign a new goalkeeper in the transfer window.

Disappointment was expressed among sections of the fanbase when a move for Milan’s Mike Maignan broke down in June. Questions were asked why the position was not strengthened because there was not much faith in No 1 Robert Sanchez.

In fairness, you could understand why. Though there had been eye-catching saves following his arrival from Brighton & Hove Albion for £25million ($33m at current rates) in August 2023, there were calamitous moments, too. It made him a hard player to trust during the 90 minutes, let alone every week. Head coach Enzo Maresca dropped him for four of Chelsea’s Premier League games in February this year.

That omission seems like a very distant memory now. As Sanchez showed in the 1-1 draw at home to Arsenal on Sunday, he has turned things around to become one of the most reliable goalkeepers in the Premier League.

There were two fine saves in each half, diving low to his right to stop an effort from Gabriel Martinelli and going the other way to prevent Mikel Merino from getting a late winner. The Spain international had to get up very quickly from the second stop to deny Viktor Gyokeres from converting the rebound, too.

Robert Sanchez making a brave save against Viktor GyokeresRyan Pierse/Getty Images

But crucially, Sanchez has cut out the sloppy mistakes that made him so erratic. One of the reasons Chelsea were so effective defending against Arsenal with 10 men after Moises Caicedo was sent off in the 38th minute was that Sanchez kept doing the basics right. He came for crosses confidently and settled any nerves at the back, as well as in the crowd.

“Robert was very good,” Maresca told reporters afterwards. “When you are with 10 players against Arsenal, you need some special performance like Robert’s. So we are very happy with Robert’s performance.”

Against the same opposition in October 2023, Sanchez’s careless pass out of defence gifted Arsenal a way back into a game Chelsea had been dominating 2-0. Declan Rice took advantage to score for the visitors, and the match ended in a 2-2 draw. On that occasion, Sanchez’s exploits made it feel like a defeat. In contrast, on Sunday, his contribution helped ensure the mood in the camp was much more positive, even though they still trail the league leaders by six points.

No one can say Sanchez’s performance was a one-off, either. Things were improving at the end of last season as Chelsea finished fourth to qualify for the Champions League. He kept five clean sheets in Chelsea’s last nine league games. Sanchez followed that with a strong Club World Cup campaign, including probably his best Chelsea display during the 3-0 win over Paris Saint-Germain in the final. His passing from the back, a major factor in that match, has become much more accurate and varied.

Now, after 13 Premier League games, he shares top billing with the highly rated Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya for most clean sheets this season (seven).

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Another indication of just how much things have changed for the better was provided by The Athletic before this fixture. As explained, Sanchez boasted the sorry statistic of making the most errors leading to a shot (including goals) last season, with 10. He went into the Arsenal fixture still waiting to get off the mark in this department for 2025-26.

There was the rather clumsy challenge on Bryan Mbeumo that led to Sanchez getting sent off in the fourth minute at Manchester United in September. That transgression was more like the Sanchez of old and played a major part in Chelsea losing 2-1 at Old Trafford. But other than that, it is hard to think of another high-profile mistake.

Following Chelsea’s last London derby against Tottenham Hotspur last month, Sanchez said he was in peak form, having found things difficult over the first 18 months. After impressing in Chelsea’s 1-0 victory, Sanchez told reporters: “I feel confident, I am fit and at my best. I have always felt settled because the club always told me I am No 1.

“But on a personal level and my performance, I have to say yes (this is the most settled I have been at Chelsea). I have reached a very good level now. I am consistent, I have the confidence, I have the fans behind (me), so everything helps a little more.”

A measure of the new esteem Chelsea fans now hold him in comes with a rather tongue-in-cheek chant that indicates the kind of journey he has been on. To the tune of Bing Crosby’s Winter Wonderland, it goes: “There’s only one Robert Sanchez, one Robert Sanchez. He used to be s***e, but now he’s all right, walking in a Sanchez wonderland.”

Whether Sanchez can be dependable enough to help Chelsea win one of the Premier League or Champions League will be up for debate as long as the club do not get their hands on either trophy. You would still not put him at the same level as great predecessors Petr Cech and Thibaut Courtois, who were part of five title-winning sides between them.

Chelsea have high hopes for Mike Penders, out on loan at Strasbourg, to develop into one of the world’s best. But while the 20-year-old continues to learn the game, Sanchez deserves to remain first choice on this form. Put it this way — it is hard to see how Maignan could have done any better.

By Simon Johnson

Chelsea Correspondent