Enzo Maresca urged Chelsea fans not to recruit goalkeeper under firefighter Robert Sanchez if he started against West Ham on Monday.
Sanchez has made errors in his last two appearances-was the fault of Wolves’ target at Stamford Bridge on January 20, and Erling Haaland’s Crucial Second at 3-1 defeat to Manchester City last Saturday.
And while Maresca admitted that she had not yet decided whether to get stuck with Sanchez or returning to back-up filip Jorgensen, he said that the fans who supported anyone who got the nod.
He said: “All I can say is that we need fans. We need them, their players need them. Understanding that sometimes, for a variety of reasons, they cannot be happy with the players or the manager in general. But for sure, we need their support because they have to trust our direction.
“If I see something I don’t like, I’m the first one who doesn’t accept it. They can be happy in terms of ways in which players try to work every day, the way they try to embrace all the situations we had this Season.
Full focus on Monday night. 👊 pic.twitter.com/b4hbdwk8nana
– Chelsea FC (@chelseafc) January 30 2025
Maresca may try to protect Sanchez
Maresca hints that if Sanchez stayed out, it would be for his good.
“Yes, sometimes this can happen,” he added. “Not only in Robert’s case. The next day I read about (Gianluigi) Donnarumma, this season he was always playing for Paris Saint-Germain, but for some games Luis Enrique left him out. Now, he plays every game and is doing well.
“Sometimes, for sure, it can be a solution. But it doesn’t mean it’s in the case of Robert.”
Potter’s return
Monday has seen Graham Potter’s return to Stamford’s bridge for the first time since it was fired by Chelsea in April 2023 after just seven months.
The 49 -year -old took over the West Ham earlier this month and Maresca was impressed by what she has seen.
He said: “They are very aggressive. I watched the four or five games with Graham in charge. You can see that they are trying to be very aggressive, even in the last game against Aston Villa.
“It will be a difficult game, as always. In terms of tactics, we still have two days to prepare the game, so we’ll see.”
