'Leave him alone': Roberto Di Matteo tells critics to back off under-fire Chelsea star
Chelsea legend Roberto Di Matteo has jumped to the defence of one Chelsea star.
There are a few players in Chelsea‘s squad who have taken some criticism over the past year, including Robert Sanchez and new signing Alejandro Garnacho.
The former is now in his third season at Stamford Bridge. After showing a lot of inconsistency, you can argue that this should be Sanchez’s final campaign as a Chelsea player.
Di Matteo, however, has launched a stern defence of the goalkeeper following all of the criticism that he has received.
Roberto Di Matteo jumps to Robert Sanchez’s defence
Last month, former Premier League striker Darren Bent discussed Sanchez, stating that the 27-year-old is starting to win him over.
He is now being backed by a Chelsea legend, with Di Matteo also praising him while slamming his critics.
Speaking to Goal, the Champions League-winning coach said: “Leave him alone! I had this question last season. You only focus on the mistakes. I know a goalkeeper makes a mistake and it is highlighted because most of the time it is a goal, but there are positives.
“Switch it around for once. Look at how many good saves he made, how many points he won for the team. Yes, he has made some mistakes — every goalkeeper makes mistakes. But we can move on and be objective about Sanchez. OK, he has made six/seven mistakes that led to goals but how many points has he saved for the club with crucial saves? Let’s look at that. I think he’s a very good goalkeeper.
“It wasn’t a priority over the summer for the club for a new goalkeeper. They are happy. Last season, two trophies. How many teams won two trophies last season? Conference League and Club World Cup. He’s very good. At the moment they focus on the negatives and I think it’s unfair.”
Sanchez has started this season as Chelsea’s first-choice goalkeeper, playing in all three of their Premier League fixtures so far.
He will be expected to start in goal when Enzo Maresca‘s men take on Brentford in Saturday’s west London derby.
Chelsea could still replace Robert Sanchez with Mike Maignan
Sanchez may be an important player for Maresca right now, but Chelsea tried to replace him in the summer with AC Milan’s Mike Maignan.
It was reported that Chelsea made an offer for Maignan, who has entered the final year of his contract at the San Siro, but the Club World Cup winners could not agree a deal with Milan. However, that may not be the end of the story.
According to TBR Football, the Blues are confident that they will eventually land Maignan’s signature, which is not good news for Sanchez.
If the Spain international wants to remain as the club’s first-choice shot-stopper, he needs to have a flawless season. The opportunity to sign a goalkeeper of Maignan’s quality on a free transfer could be too good to turn down, especially if Sanchez is not performing.
from Chelsea FC Latest News & Club Updates | The Chelsea Chronicle https://ift.tt/TNWg14J
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