“He’s improving” – Maresca defends his player fans still aren’t sure about after strong game | OneFootball

Chelsea’s recent good form has been a rising tide which has floated all boats. The improvements in the team’s overall form have made individuals look better, and vice versa.

The fact that Wesley Fofana has returned to form a solid defensive partnership with Trevoh Chalobah has made Robert Sanchez a lot more comfortable in goal, and the Spaniard is in his best run of form since joining Chelsea.

Sanchez in his best run of form since joining Chelsea

Enzo Maresca speaks to the media ahead of Leeds.

He hasn’t convinced everyone, but the complaints have certainly died off for now. His great showing against Arsenal on Sunday prompted a lot of praise for the former Brighton man. Enzo Maresca has always backed him, and did so again when asked about his form in a press conference today:

“I think Robert, in terms of saving [shots], he has been always good since I joined the club. In terms of build-up, he struggled a little bit. But I said since day one, our build-up depends a little bit on how the other team press so sometimes we go long, sometimes we go short,” Maresca said.

“I think Robert’s game against Arsenal has been one of his best games also in build-up because we played also some goal kicks short when we arrived in the other box. He played four or five balls between the line. One for Estevao [Willian], the other one for Malo [Gusto]. But sometimes we also need to go long. Two games ago against Burnley, we scored starting the second goal from Robert. So he’s improving especially in the build-up.”

In other news…

Enzo Maresca also suggested a very interesting team tweak while Moises Caicedo is out – we really hope we see this in at least one game.

Maresca’s press conference also touched on the big news of the week – Cole Palmer’s return and when that might be. We did the calculations here for you.