Maresca must now drop 4/10 Chelsea star who got ‘bullied’

Chelsea suffered a disappointing 3-1 away defeat to Manchester City on Saturday evening.

Although the Blues took the lead at the Etihad Stadium, they were unable to capitalize on their early advantage, allowing City to claw their way back into the game before the Premier League champions killed them off in the second half.

It was a bizarre way for Chelsea to take the lead, which they did in the third minute of the match. New Citizens signing Abdukodir Khusanov misplaced a poor header aimed at City goalkeeper Ederson. Nicolas Jackson pounced on the loose ball and quickly delivered it to Noni Madueke who made it 1-0.

City equalized just three minutes before half-time, Josko Gvardiol pounced on a loose ball after a one-on-one in the penalty area. They took the lead in calamitous fashion from Chelsea’s point of view, with Erling Haaland getting behind and lobbing goalkeeper Robert Sanchez, who was horribly caught off his line.

Just like before half-time, City scored three minutes before full-time, this time through Phil Foden. The Englishman ended a Haaland dismissal, before rushing out and heading home relatively unchallenged.

It was a disappointing day’s work for the west Londoners, who failed to capitalize on the early advantage. Sanchez had a particularly poor afternoon.

Sanchez’s stats against Man City

It’s been a very poor season so far for Spanish goalkeeper Sanchez, but his outing at the Etihad Stadium was perhaps the most disappointing of the lot. He looked at sea against a City attack that could have scored four or five on another day.

Sanchez had a tough shot at City’s new man Omar Marmoush, but his strike was ruled out for offside. His worst mistake was undoubtedly Haaland’s goal, where he was caught in no-man’s land off his line, meaning all the Norwegian striker had to do was lob it in from 15 yards.

He received a 3/10 for his performance by Malik Ouzia, journalist at The Standard. He called Sanchez’s position for Haaland’s strike “confusing”, before explaining it was a “miracle he kept his shirt” in the Chelsea goal.

Indeed, his Sofascore statistics to show at full time how poorly the Blues number one has performed. He avoided -0.68 goals and made an error that led to a goal. On the ball, he completed only eight of 26 long ball attempts.

With Filip Jorgensen also an option for Enzo Maresca between the posts, it remains to be seen whether Sanchez will be sidelined for Chelsa’s next outing. Someone in a similar boat is defender Levi Colwill.

Colwill’s stats against Man City

Colwill was perhaps as bad, if not worse, than Sanchez against the Citizens. Rory, football content creator suggested Haaland “bullied” the Englishman, with a good example being the City star holding off Colwill before playing in Foden for City’s third.

His rating of Ouzia was only slightly better than Sanchez’s, with the Chelsea defender earning himself a 4/10. The Standard journalist also admitted he was “bullied” and criticized him for a mistake that almost gifted Haaland another goal.

Colwill’s statistics in the match were a disappointing summation of his evening’s work in East Manchester. The England international won just one aerial duel in three, made a mistake leading to a shot and lost the ball eight times.

Just like in goal, Maresca has options in defense if he wishes to let Colwill down. The Italian could bring in youngster Josh Acheampong, Frenchman Axel Disasi or former City academy player Tosin Adarabioyo.

He certainly has a big decision to make before the next game, with options available to him, and it would be hard to argue against a decision to drop Colwill. Whatever Maresca chooses to do, he hopes his team can bounce back with a win next time around.

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