It took nine minutes for Robert Sanchez to give away his first pass of the afternoon. From inside his box a wayward ball out to the right side fell in-field to Gabriel Martinelli. He cut onto his right foot and shot.
Sanchez just about atoned for the error but still spilled the ball which had been hit right at him. It set the tone for most of his performance.
Two minutes later Sanchez was flapping around after Jurrien Timber's cutback deflected goalwards after a failed clearance and a scramble involving Martinelli. Stumbling backwards, Sanchez stuck an arm out and palmed the ball into the centre of the box. Declan Rice went on to fire over from his half-volley.
That is Sanchez in a nutshell right now. He was introduced back into the Premier League XI last weekend at home to Leicester City after four weeks on the sidelines. It was his mistake - coming out into no man's land away at Manchester City - which forced Maresca's hand in the first place.
Sanchez kept a clean sheet having done very little on the day but was involved in Leicester's best moment when he dived at full length and nearly allowed a cross to divert onto Tosin Adarabioyo and onto his crossbar. At that point Maresca was quiet on whether the tables had completely turned but when Filip Jorgensen got the nod on Thursday against Copenhagen the writing was on the wall.
Maresca has remained firm that he believes there are two quality goalkeepers in his squad. His actions say very different things. Sanchez has made more errors leading to goals than any other player in the league this season and Jorgensen is not deemed to be more suitable than him.
That says a lot for the situation Chelsea are in. Sanchez has also made the most errors resulting in an opposition shot. The flip-side is that he is capable of making brilliant saves.
He showed this in the second half when denying Mikel Merino a second. He has won the Premier League's Save of the Month competition twice and does have an impressive highlights reel. The issue is that he is not reliable enough to build from.
Mauricio Pochettino came to this conclusion last season and stuck with Djordje Petrovic even when Sanchez returned from an injury in December. Maresca opted to make Jorgensen his No.1 following a run of blunders from Sanchez at the start of 2025.
Jorgensen himself was culpable for Aston Villa's winner in the last minute when he let Marco Asensio's shot slip under his body, throwing away a point. He has since been relegated back to being the Conference League and rotation goalkeeper.
The reality is that neither are good enough. Sanchez does not inspire any confidence in his teammates and has well and truly lost the support of the fanbase at Stamford Bridge. Jorgensen was jeered when taking his time in possession at the start of the 4-0 win over Southampton, although that appeared to be aimed towards the general style rather than his own personal struggles.
Sanchez is now back in place and there is no clear reason why Jorgensen has been displaced. "I think he [Jorgensen] did a good game," Maresca said following Sunday's result. "He did some good saves. With his feet, in some moments he was quite good and in some moments he struggled a little bit. But overall, I think his performance was quite good."
Analysing Merino's goal, Sanchez could be criticised for being in a tussle with the red shirts in front of him less than one second before the header comes his way. By that stage he has taken a step towards his goal but is not in a position to move his feet quickly enough to make a save.
Chelsea's defending of the front post is a bigger issue than Sanchez in this exact moment but his preoccupation with those around him rather than protecting the goal is notable. With the uncertainty that follows him, this sort of scrutiny is only natural.
Chopping and changing goalkeepers is rarely a good sign. It does not historically tend to work when there are two genuine No.1s and is only exposed more when the quality is missing.
Chelsea now have two No.2s and cannot settle on either. With only nine Premier League games it is Sanchez's spot to lose but another shift isn't going to benefit anyone. For now the bed has been made and Maresca will have to lay in it, accepting to consequences of his actions.
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Chelsea flag prior the UEFA Champions League Quarter Final Leg One match between Chelsea FC and Real Madrid at Stamford Bridge. (Photo by Jose Breton/Pics Action/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
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