Southampton FC v Chelsea FC - Premier League
Enzo Maresca’s Chelsea take on Tottenham on Sunday (Picture: Getty Images)
Robert Sanchez may have been dropped for Chelsea’s win over Southampton on Wednesday, but Enzo Maresca says he is the only guaranteed starter when the Blues face Tottenham this weekend.
Filip Jorgensen was in goal against the Saints as Chelsea romped to a 5-1 win at St Mary’s.
Goals from Axel Diasasi, Christopher Nkunku, Noni Madueke, Cole Palmer and Jadon Sancho kept up Chelsea’s impressive recent form and heaped more pain on bottom of the table Southampton.
Maresca mixed things up from his more regular Premier League starting XI as Nicolas Jackson, Levi Colwill and Pedro Netro also had to settle for places on the bench.
However, it is Sanchez who he has confirmed will definitely play at Tottenham on Sunday, while keeping the rest of his team a mystery.
Asked if Jorgensen could keep his place at Spurs, Maresca said: ‘That day we are going to play Sanchez and 10 players. The only one that is sure is Sanchez.’
Chelsea are the top-scorers in the Premier League as they took their tally to 31 in 14 games, but while the Italian was pleased with their performance in front of goal he wasn’t thrilled with the display in its entirety.
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Filip Jorgensen was handed his first Premier League start for Chelsea (Picture: Getty Images)
Chelsea FC v Aston Villa FC - Premier League
Robert Sanchez will be back in goal this weekend (Picture: Getty Images)
‘I’m very happy with the five we scored but I’m not happy about the first 10 or 15 minutes when we struggled,’ he said. ‘The reason why we struggled is because we prepared the game to press them man-to-man but in the first 15 or 20 minutes, we were not pressing them man-to-man.
‘This is a team that if you don’t go man-to-man, then you struggle to recover the ball.
‘Then after that, we adjusted that and the game was much better. But we could score more, but five goals is enough.’
Southampton FC v Chelsea FC - Premier League
Chelsea followed up a 3-0 win over Aston Villa by thrashing Southampton (Picture: Getty Images)
Maresca’s side is exceeding expectations so far this season, sitting second in the table, with just two defeats in 14 outings.
‘The results help a lot, and calm down the noise around the club,’ he said. ‘It’s a good feeling to see the fans happy after the last two years when many things happened. You can see now the feeling from them is good.’
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