RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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Chelsea claimed a 3-2 win over Fulham in their Premier League opener as Xabi Alonso marked his debut with three points.
The Blues went ahead after just 32 seconds as Cole Palmer, seemingly back to his best, slipped in Joao Pedro, who finished confidently.
However, Chelsea allowed their opponents back into the game as Robert Sanchez let a Joshua King shot in at the near post following a poor diving attempt.
Moments earlier, the Chelsea shot-stopper had made a basic kicking error. Luckily for him, Morgan Rogers got the second, and Palmer struck in the third.
Another subpar moment from Sanchez gifted Gonzalo Garcia a goal, but Chelsea saw out the victory, winning their opening league game for the first time since 2022/23.
Chelsea looked brilliant from back to front, but will desperately need to do something about Sanchez if they are serious about finishing close to the top of the pile.
One national publication gave him a 3/10 rating for a shoddy performance between the sticks, and many others followed with scathing criticism.
Sanchez is too unreliable and Chelsea need an upgrade
Sanchez has been a problem for Chelsea for far too long .
He has been inconsistent ever since the Blues signed him, making too many basic errors and showing poor decision-making for a club with serious ambitions.
What makes it even more frustrating is that Chelsea have repeatedly failed to make a genuine effort to upgrade on him despite the obvious need.
It is almost a joke if it were not costing them points and games.
Last season, a performance like this could easily have ended in a draw or even a defeat.
Chelsea got away with it this time, but they cannot keep relying on their attack to bail out an unreliable goalkeeper.
If the Blues are serious about challenging at the top end of the Premier League, they should be looking at the market before the window closes.
A goalkeeper may not have been the most obvious priority at the start of the summer, but Sanchez is making a compelling case that it needs to become one.
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