Chelsea had a bad day at the office on Saturday, though their former goalkeeper Rob Green thought it could have been worse.
Enzo Maresca’s men were beaten 2-1 by Aston Villa despite initially taking the lead against their opponents.
Joao Pedro opened the scoring for his side before Villa completed a comeback thanks to an Ollie Watkins brace.
Chelsea will feel that they should have been awarded a penalty, but Green thinks they were fortunate to finish the game with 11 men.
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“The referee’s call of no penalty to Chelsea was checked and confirmed by VAR – with it deemed that Maatsen’s arm was in a justifiable position.”
Premier League Match Centre on why Chelsea were not awarded a penalty in Aston Villa defeat
Pedro Neto of Chelsea is challenged by Ian Maatsen of Aston Villa
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Robert Sanchez of Chelsea gestures
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Rob Green thinks Robert Sanchez should have seen red against Aston Villa
Late in the second half, there was one incident that involved goalkeeper Robert Sanchez accidentally coming out of his box with the ball still in his hands. According to Green, that warranted a red card.
Commentating on Chelsea’s defeat to Villa for the BBC, the ex-England international said: “This is something I’ve never seen.
“Robert Sanchez does it a lot, when you’re thinking release the ball. I think he’s really fortunate not to get a red card here.”
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Chelsea have dropped 11 points from winning positions in home Premier League matches this season — four more than any other side.
— BBC Sport
Cole Palmer of Chelsea runs with the ball
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Already losing the game with not long left to play, it would not have made a difference for the Blues, who have fallen further behind Villa in the Premier League table.
Unai Emery’s side currently sit in third, 10 points above Chelsea. All in all, this first half of the season has been quite a disappointing one for Green’s former club.
Sky Sports pundit Rob Green during the Premier League match between West Ham United and Chelsea
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Robert Sanchez was Chelsea’s best player after Reece James
Reece James was probably Chelsea’s top performer against Villa and not just because he assisted Pedro’s goal.
As per Sofascore, the defender won six of the seven tackles he attempted and also managed to make three key passes.
He had a good game, but so did Sanchez despite his mistake in the second half. The goalkeeper made several saves, preventing Chelsea from losing by a higher margin.
It was a bad day for the Blues, but Sanchez’s performance was one positive for Maresca to take away.
The same can be said about James’ display. This season, both the Chelsea captain and Sanchez have shone and hopefully that can continue, especially now with the rest of the team struggling.
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