Enzo Maresca finally addresses Chelsea star's mistakes and hints at major change vs West Ham
The majority of Enzo Maresca's pre-West Ham press conference was dominated by talk surrounding Robert Sanchez and the Chelsea goalkeeper situation. The Spaniard has been at fault for a number of goals conceded by the Blues this season with his latest mistake ultimately proving decisive in last weekend's defeat to Manchester City.
Despite the errors starting to become more frequent and the presence of Filip Jorgensen, signed this past summer from Villareal, Maresca has stuck by Sanchez as his No.1. However, with pressure perhaps cranking up, the Chelsea boss has hinted he could make a change in between the sticks in a thorough verdict.
"Not yet [decided who will play in goal]," he said on Friday morning. "We have two or three days. Any decision I make, I feel good because Filip has done well. Filip or Robert, we will see, but any decision will be okay.
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"We need the fans. We need them, the players need them. Understanding for sometimes they cannot be happy with the player or manager but for sure, we need their support. They have to trust our direction. If I see something I don't like, I'm the first one to not accept that.
Later on in the press conference, Maresca was asked about the possibility of Sanchez being taken out of the limelight with the Blues head coach drawing on two examples which was perhaps his biggest hint yet that Sanchez could come out of the starting XI.
"Sometimes it can happen, not only in Robert's case, but it happened this season with Alisson, no? I was reading about Donnarumma that Luis Enrique left him out. Sometimes it can be a solution but it does not mean it is Robert's case."
His words on Jorgensen suggested that for the time being he will continue to be second-choice but that Sanchez is also not guaranteed to start every week.
"The first time I spoke with Filip in July, I made it clear that the number one choice was Robert," he said. "We have two good goalkeepers, so we can make some different decisions. It doesn't mean that Robert can make a mistake every game and stay in goal."
