Robert Sánchez has long been regarded by so many as no more than a stop-gap for Chelsea between the posts, with errors and lapses of concentration so often undermining impressive runs of form. Enzo Maresca pivoted to Filip Jörgensen at one point last season, but the Dane’s egregious mistake at Villa Park rendered Sánchez’s job safe for the time being.
And while Chelsea were strongly linked with Mike Maignan and, to a lesser extent, Gianluigi Donnarumma in the summer, Maresca retained his faith in Sánchez after an excellent Club World Cup campaign.
The goalkeeper’s form from the United States had permeated into 2025–26, but then arrived one of those vintage Sánchez horror moments that undid plenty of recent good. His lunge on Manchester United’s Bryan Mbeumo left Chelsea a man down just five minutes in, and their subsequent 2–1 defeat was ultimately facilitated by the goalkeeper’s lapse of judgement.
However, Sánchez will be able to line up for the Blues in their next Premier League game against Brighton & Hove Albion next Saturday. Here’s why.
