Chelsea’s win over Aston Villa was a much-needed one for Liam Rosenior’s side. They had started to lose a bit of steam in recent weeks. The defeat against Arsenal was a blow, but somewhat expected. The Blues have not won in their last eleven tries against their London rivals. The draws against Leeds United and Burnley turned out to be even more damaging for them in the Champions League qualification race.
The likes of Manchester United and Liverpool had started to pick up some momentum. On the other hand, it looked like Chelsea were being left behind. Fortunately, this matchday could not have gone any better for Rosenior’s men.
Not only did they win, but at the expense of Aston Villa. On the other hand, Manchester United lost to Newcastle. And Liverpool lost to Wolves. Man City and Arsenal are almost certain to finish in the top two spots.
So, Chelsea saw all three of their Champions League qualification race rivals lose while winning themselves. Interestingly, it came on a day when Robert Sanchez was dropped from the starting XI in favour of Filip Jorgensen.
Why Liam Rosenior dropped Robert Sanchez against Aston Villa
Sanchez has faced consistent criticism throughout his three seasons at Chelsea. He has remained the number one between the posts for the majority of that time though.
In fact, this has been Sanchez’s best season in a Chelsea shirt. For the most part, he had cut the errors out of his game. And the Spaniard has never had a problem coming up with big saves. On his day, he is a world-class goalkeeper.
Unfortunately, in recent weeks, the mistakes had crept back into his game. So, leaving him out of the starting XI might not have been a bad idea at all. But why? Well, it looks like it came down to a gut feeling from Rosenior.
According to Metro, the Chelsea manager said about his decision to drop Sanchez: ‘Rob [Sanchez] is an outstanding goalkeeper.
‘I just saw Filip [Jorgensen] in training and sometimes as a manager you have to go with your gut.
‘Filip gave us something different and they will both be fighting it out for the rest of the season.’
Jorgensen and Sanchez now fighting to be Chelsea’s number one
This has come as a bit of a surprise, to be honest. In the winter, rumours had broken out that Jorgensen was looking to leave in the middle of the season.
It was not hard to understand why. He has not played much since joining Chelsea. And even when he has, he has struggled against physical opponents who are happy to float the ball into the box. A move away in the winter window did not end up materialising though.
Now, suddenly, it looks like Jorgensen is right back in the mix to be the first-choice in Chelsea’s goal. Could Sanchez find himself as the cover option by the end of the season? And if so, what would that mean for the club’s long-term plans between the posts?
