Troy Deeney points finger at players stopping Chelsea joining Premier League title race
Chelsea currently sit third in the Premier League under Enzo Maresca, but former Premier League striker Troy Deeney has expressed concerns about their goalkeeper and defence
by Matthew Cooper · The MirrorFormer Premier League striker Troy Deeney believes Chelsea would be genuine contenders to win the title this season if they had improved their backline.
Chelsea have made a good start to the season under new boss Enzo Maresca, with the Blues currently third in the league and top of the Conference League. However, they have kept just five clean sheets in 19 games across all competitions.
And Deeney believes Chelsea's defence and first-choice goalkeeper Robert Sanchez are their biggest weakness as they "keep letting in poor goals". Speaking on talkSPORT after Chelsea's 2-1 win over Leicester, Deeney claimed: "Right now they should be looking at [the title race].
"But I still think that goalkeeper [Robert Sanchez] and the defenders keep letting in poor goals. That should have been an easy 2-0 win, if not a 3-0 win.
"Just open at the back today and I think that's why they have to go for top four right now. Unless in January they go out and get a couple of signings, that backline is going to cost them."
Sanchez, for example, has made three errors leading directly to a goal so far this season, the most of any individual player alongside Ipswich goalkeeper Arijanet Muric. However, Maresca has repeatedly defended the Spaniard in the face of rising criticism.
"Yes [Sanchez made mistakes] but he also did so many good things," Maresca said last month when asked about Sanchez's performances. "At the end, it is football. I ask Robert to do that [play the ball out from the back].
"The moment he stops doing that, he is not going to play. If Robert makes a mistake, it's not Robert's problem, it is my mistake because I asked that from Robert. I am very happy with Robert and the way he is playing, building from the back.
"All the goal kicks we have and he passes the ball to Noni [Madueke], and Pedro [Neto], that kind of ball that gives us many times chances to attack. Sometimes you make mistakes but it is not going to change the way we are going to play."
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