According to Metro, Nigel Reo-Coker has expressed doubts about Chelsea's ability to challenge for the Premier League title under Enzo Maresca as long as Robert Sanchez is their goalkeeper.
Chelsea suffered their second league defeat of the season on Sunday, falling 2-1 to Liverpool at Anfield.
Mohamed Salah opened the scoring with a penalty, and although Nicolas Jackson equalized shortly after halftime, Curtis Jones quickly restored Liverpool's lead just three minutes later.
Sanchez came under scrutiny for failing to effectively deal with Jones’s close-range effort.
When asked if Chelsea could compete for the title with Sanchez in goal, Reo-Coker told BBC Five Live, "No. I think sometimes he can be a liability for Chelsea, in my opinion. He’s a top, top shot-stopper, but I think there are too many mistakes in him and lapses in concentration at times. One of the weaknesses in this Chelsea side is that sometimes when they try to play out from the back, they leave themselves vulnerable. A well-organized team that presses well with players who are comfortable in one-on-one situations can catch them off guard at times. For me, I feel they do need to improve in the goalkeeping area still for them to really talk about winning Premier League titles."
Reo-Coker also noted that Chelsea's midfield, featuring Moisés Caicedo and Romeo Lavia, appeared more robust without Enzo Fernandez, who was substituted in during the 53rd minute at Anfield. "I do think it’s hard to criticize Chelsea today. When you look at where they’ve been—the absolute circus of a football club they have been—people have had so many opinions about them because of what they’ve done. You see these performances they’re putting in now… they did play well," he stated.
He added, "The one thing that’s actually puzzling to me, though, is that I looked at the midfield partnership of Lavia and Caicedo today, and I felt that’s the best Chelsea have looked in midfield; they looked strong in there. It goes to the point at the start of the season—the Enzo Fernandez incident. You make him club captain, and yet he’s not playing in probably one of your biggest games of the season to date, away at Anfield against title contenders Liverpool."
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