Robert Sanchez has fallen behind in the race for the Premier League Golden Glove award after a mixed start to the year
17:00, 22 Feb 2026
Robert Sanchez of Chelsea during the Premier League match between Chelsea and Burnley at Stamford Bridge on February 21, 2026 in London, United Kingdom
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Robert Sanchez has quietly become a reliable player for Chelsea(Image: Photo by Izzy Poles - AMA/Getty Images)
Robert Sanchez has shown his true colours following Chelsea's disappointing draw to Burnley. The 28-year-old goalkeeper couldn't stop Zian Flemming from pulling back an equaliser in the dying embers of stoppage time at Stamford Bridge on Saturday afternoon.
After the game, Liam Rosenior absolved Sanchez of any responsibility for the goal, pointing out that an outfielder had failed their 'marking assignment'. Andrey Santos appeared to be the culprit, although Tosin Adarabioyo was unsuccessful in clearing the ball from his zone at the near post.
The Blues boss refused to name the player at fault, but confirmed that they 'marked the wrong player'. Once the dust had settled, on Saturday evening, Sanchez was the first Chelsea player to face the music on social media.
The Spain international, who has grown to become somewhat of a leader in the dressing room, accepted that he and his teammates were not good enough. On Instagram, he wrote: "We needed to be better today, a tough ending to take. Let’s focus energy on the big run of games coming up."
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Chelsea have some difficult fixtures coming up, starting with a trip to the Emirates Stadium on Sunday afternoon before a clash against Aston Villa on Wednesday night. With a week or so on the training pitches at Cobham, Rosenior has insisted that he'll address the Blues' problems 'very quickly'.
"We need to be the better team in every game," said the 41-year-old. "We need to win games of football. I know what the answer is and we will address it in the week.
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"There's an inquest after every game whether we win or lose. I'm learning about the players. I'm learning about the people you can lean on when things aren't going your way and you need to see a game out. That's something we need to address very quickly."
Rosenior continued: "I'm accountable. I'm the head coach, I'm the manager of the team. I'm accountable for every result and every performance we have. We need to have players who you can rely on in the moment to do their job."
On his side's mentality, he said: "The best teams, the teams that win titles, which is where we want to get to, they win games 1-0 when they probably haven't had the best performance. That should have been at least a 1-0 today.
Reece James of Chelsea applauds the fabs after the teams draw following the Premier League match between Chelsea and Burnley at Stamford Bridge on February 21, 2026 in London, United Kingdom
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Reece James applauds the fans following Chelsea's draw to Burnley(Image: Photo by Izzy Poles - AMA/Getty Images)
"Even with 10 men for 25 minutes, that should have been a 1-0 at the least. I know what we need to get there. It's not down to youth, it's down to assessing the players and assessing the ones you can rely on in the difficult moments."
And on what he's learned about his players, Rosenior said: "I've learned in our record in the Premier League is we played six, we've won four, we've drawn two. I've learned I've got a good team.
"But I learned for us to maximise the potential of this group, which is very high. We need players who in key moments can see things through and make sure they make the right professional decisions."
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