Chelsea player ratings vs Arsenal: Robert Sanchez hang your head in shame! Goalkeeper’s moment of madness completely ruins what had been a perfect night for Cole Palmer & his mates

Chelsea’s momentum came to a screeching halt due to a disastrous blunder from their goalkeeper, gifting Arsenal an opportunity to get back into the game and ultimately costing Chelsea all three points.

Mauricio Pochettino must be seething with anger. Chelsea, undoubtedly delivering their finest performance of the season thus far, dominated Arsenal in every aspect of the game. However, Robert Sanchez, the Spanish goalkeeper brought in from Brighton to potentially take on the number one role, raised eyebrows with his performance. His complete lack of focus resulted in a costly mistake. A lazy pass was intercepted by Declan Rice, providing Arsenal with a lifeline they hadn’t been close to grasping for 77 minutes.

To begin with, Cole Palmer, who appears to be a fantastic acquisition, propelled the hosts to a perfect start. Shortly after, a fortuitous cross-shot from Mykhailo Mudryk sent Chelsea into dreamland. However, everything fell apart following Sanchez’s foolish blunder, and Leandro Trossard further dampened the night with a late equalizer. Undoubtedly, there were plenty of positives for Chelsea, but the disappointment will linger tonight.

GOAL evaluates the performances of Chelsea’s players at Stamford Bridge…”

Getty Images

Goalkeeper & Defence

Robert Sanchez (3/10):

At the other end, Raya was suffering his own nightmare, but that didn’t stop Sanchez from trying to outdo himself. After cruising through a match in which Arsenal failed to register a shot on goal until the 77th minute, he gave Arteta’s team a chance to get back into it with a careless pass to Rice, who was left with an open goal. Crazy.

Malo Gusto (5/10):

When he teamed up with Sterling late in the first half, he may have performed better, but his shot harmlessly went over the crossbar. was able to contain Martinelli’s significant threat well, but he fell asleep at the far post, allowing Trossard to score the equalizer.

Thiago Silva (7/10):

Midway through the first half, stunned Martinelli with a lunging challenge that had his countryman limping away licking his wounds. In that one instance, he put on a no-nonsense performance that demonstrated why Pochettino still relies on him at the age of 39.

Levi Colwill (6/10):

He has a strong presence in the air and appears to be much more at home at center defense. He put on a strong performance here alongside the overpowering Thiago Silva to make sure Jesus never had a chance to get a look in. He is not at all to fault for either objective.

Marc Cucurella (7/10):

Not many full-backs have been able to boast that this season, but he prevailed in his personal struggle against an uncharacteristically muted Saka. At Stamford Bridge, he is not a fan favorite, but with more assertive and forceful displays like that, he will quickly win back the Shed End’s favor.

Midfield

Enzo Fernandez (8/10):

He and Caicedo once again put in a composed and assured display, dominating the midfield duel for the most of the game. Fernandez once more exuded class in this situation, and when he decided who would receive the penalty, he made Sterling aware of his superiority. He’s already among the greatest in the Premier League.

Moises Caicedo (7/10):

He may have had a difficult time adjusting to life at Chelsea, but now he’s beginning to display the kind of play that made Pochettino spend such a high price to recruit him. teamed up with Gusto and Fernandez incredibly well to help contain the threatening Martinelli.

Attack

Raheem Sterling (7/10):

Played a significant part in the contentious penalty decision since Mudryk’s header was stopped by Saliba’s arm as a result of his whipped cross. Then attempted to wrestle the ball away from Palmer so that he could take the penalty kick himself, but Fernandez stopped him. Ignoring that pointless altercation, he appears to be a real threat on the right wing and doesn’t seem to have been too affected by being left out of the England team.

Cole Palmer (8/10):

There is a new hero in Chelsea! Easily dispatched a smooth penalty shot past Raya to score his second goal in as many games. He also came close to scoring again with a well-placed attempt that fizzed just wide. He was perhaps the greatest player on the field here and is now an essential part of Pochettino’s development.

Conor Gallagher (6/10):

What Gallagher performance isn’t busy, vivacious, and tenacious? Will take credit for Mudryk’s goal even if he merely touched the ball into the teammate’s way. He is obviously a favorite of Pochettino, and it is simple to understand why.

Mykhailo Mudryk (7/10):

Earned the penalty after Raya was embarrassed by his looping cross that went into the net of the Arsenal goalkeeper after his header smacked off Saliba’s palm. Even if he didn’t mean it, incidents like that will help him feel even more confident that he belongs at this level.

Subs & Manager

Nicolas Jackson (5/10):

Came on in the 66th minute to replace Mudryk, but had little effect.

Reece James (5/10):

His first appearance since August was a welcome return following a season that was severely hampered by injuries. Chelsea supporters will be hopeful their club captain can now remain healthy for an extended period of time.

Noni Madueke (4/10):

Allowing Saka to simply cut inside of him allowed him to cross for Trossard’s equalizer. It was an oversight that ultimately lost his team all three points.

Mauricio Pochettino (7/10):

This was certainly Chelsea’s greatest game of the season—up until the final 15 or so minutes. In every area of the field, Pochettino’s lineup and false-nine tactics were perfect, leaving Arsenal without a response. At the end, everything broke down, but the manager is not to blame. It is easy to see the improvement since the beginning of the season.