Chelsea 1-0 Everton (Jackson 27′)
STAMFORD BRIDGE — If only Chelsea had this Robert Sanchez every weekend.
The 27-year-old has become one of the most maligned and mocked players in the Premier League, often by his own supporters, for whom he has been a steady source of frustration over the past two seasons.
Chelsea followers have been spoiled by the quality of their team’s shot-stoppers, with a succession line of Petr Cech, Thibaut Courtois and Edouard Mendy (via Kepa Arrizabalaga) providing safe hands for the best part of two decades. Sanchez has rarely looked to be in the same class.
square FOOTBALL Doing the 92Chelsea are a black hole of logic
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At least not consistently enough. He has the physical and technical assets to be a top keeper, a giant with springs in his boots, but has a penchant for the rash and reckless. Not ideal tendencies when you’re the last line of defence.
Unfortunately for Everton, he had one of his best days for Chelsea. Quite possibly his best.
The streamlined Spanish keeper made two superb saves, both down to his right, to maintain Chelsea’s lead and Champions League charge, denying first Beto and then Dwight McNeil with lightning-quick reflexes.
He dominated his six-yard box from corners, much to David Moyes’ annoyance, who sat down in disgust, both hands raised despairingly to his temple, after James Garner’s late corner sailed straight into Sanchez’s gloves.
Sanchez’s efforts were crucial in lifting Chelsea into the top five, a position they will remain in for at least five days when Nottingham Forest face Brentford in their game in hand.
“You could see how the teammates celebrated at the end of the game with him,” Enzo Maresca said.
“They know Robert has not been in a good moment, and they tried to support him.”
The fact that Chelsea needed Sanchez to be at his best to beat a diligent but limited Everton side at home is proof that things still aren’t quite clicking for Maresca’s side. The swaggering performances of the autumn are a distant memory.
"WHAT A SAVE!"
This stop from Robert Sánchez could be a match-winning moment
@tntsports & @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/owFdFpPzay
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) April 26, 2025
It was a tough watch for the Italian, whose punishment for straying onto the pitch after Pedro Neto’s 93rd-minute winner against Fulham last weekend was a one-match ban and an afternoon spent watching the action from the press box.
“It was a disaster to be honest!” he said of his unusual vantage point, one obscured by concrete slabs and elevated plug sockets.
Maresca largely observed quietly, occasionally removing his phone from his track bottoms to relay observations to the bench to be passed on to acting dugout patroller Willy Caballero.
As Everton gained more possession and territory in the second half and anxiety crept in, the typing became more frantic as though WhatsApp messages alone could shake Chelsea back into action.
In the end, it was misplaced energy, with Nicolas Jackson’s goal ultimately proving to be enough.
Jackson has had Cole Palmer to thank for taking the spotlight off his own goalscoring struggles.
When forwards are on the type of barren run that Jackson was on –four-and-a-half months without a goal – they will take one by any means necessary: A tap-in, penalty, a deflection off their buttocks. Something easy, lucky or both.
What a strike that is Nicolas Jackson fires Chelsea ahead just before the half-hour mark! @tntsports & @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/aEIdJwiM0m
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) April 26, 2025Jackson got his with a perfectly placed and perfectly struck shot from the edge of the box that veered past Jordan Pickford’s outstretched right arm on its way into the bottom corner. It was the sort of confident finish you’d expect of a forward on a 13-game scoring run, not a 13-game scoreless one.
Everton contributed to their own downfall, Beto losing the ball on halfway from Pickford’s pass into his feet. It took just four Chelsea touches: Trevoh Chalobah’s interception, Enzo Fernandez’s forward pass, Jackson’s first touch and finish, to carve them open.
square FOOTBALL Sport AnalysisCole Palmer has stopped having fun
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Maresca’s Chelsea have frequently been accused of taking too many touches to do anything. Jackson’s goal was economically efficient.
Jackson’s confidence booster is good news, especially with Palmer toiling.
Palmer had the fewest touches (21) among Chelsea’s outfield players in the first half and only managed two more in the second.
He didn’t register a single shot on goal and never looked likely to end his own 17-game wait for a goal.
Maresca’s public premonition that “today could be a good day for Cole” proved unfounded. How Chelsea could benefit from their talisman sparking back into life for the run-in. They can’t rely on Sanchez every week.
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