The Spanish goalkeeper had a nightmare as Chelsea were comfortably beaten at the Etihad Stadium
Chelsea were beaten 3-1 by Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday, due in large part to an appalling Robert Sanchez performance, as Pep Guardiola's side fought back from a goal down to claim a priceless three points.
Within two minutes, Chelsea had the lead. New City signing Abdukodir Khusanov got lost under a high ball and played a terrible back pass to Ederson which Nicolas Jackson pounced on. The striker found Noni Madueke six yards out, and he tapped into an open goal.
The Blues should have had a second before 10 minutes were up but Cole Palmer, uncharacteristically, wasted a two-on-one opportunity by overhitting a pass to Jackson.
Just after the half-hour mark, Omar Marmoush thought he had a debut goal for City but it was ruled out for offside, after he tapped in a rebound from Ilkay Gundogan's effort.
City did have the equaliser with five minutes of the half remaining thanks to Josko Gvardiol's smart finish; Robert Sanchez had saved from Matheus Nunes but the rebound dropped to the rampaging left-back.
On 67 minutes, City took the lead and it came through a Sanchez howler. The goalkeeper rushed out of his goal bizarrely and Erling Haaland bullied Trevoh Chalobah before lifting the ball over the Spaniard to complete a remarkable turnaround.
Phil Foden rounded out the scoring with three minutes left, latching onto a flick-on from Haaland and powering into the box before finishing low beyond Sanchez.
GOAL rates Chelsea's players from the Etihad Stadium…
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Robert Sanchez (3/10):
Fortunate Marmoush was offside after spilling Gundogan's shot. Unlucky with Gvardiol's strike and well-beaten by Foden's, but showcased his appalling decision-making when he rushed out of his net for no reason before Haaland's goal. He's not good enough.
Reece James (5/10):
Up against Marmoush and struggled to keep pace with his trickery. Barely got out of his own half and was subbed for Gusto.
Trevoh Chalobah (4/10):
Passed the ball well but was bullied by Haaland before he scored. Perhaps there is no shame in that, but he did have a head start on the Norway international, and was monstered by the striker. Got nowhere near Foden, either.
Levi Colwill (5/10):
Picked up a silly booking for time-wasting after 25 minutes. Struggled to find a real rhythm thereafter and was beaten by Haaland before Foden's goal.
Marc Cucurella (6/10):
Tracked Nunes into the box and attempted to make a tackle before Gvardiol scored but could not quite get there. Adventurous in his dribbling and stood up to Foden well.
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Moises Caicedo (5/10):
Reliable on the ball but his defensive impact waned as City established a stranglehold on the game.
Enzo Fernandez (5/10):
Did not play well. Normally so tenacious and capable both on and off the ball, but was regularly bypassed in build-up and struggled to dictate from deep.
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Noni Madueke (6/10):
Couldn't miss when played in by Jackson. Got very little change out of Gvardiol but never let his head drop, to his credit.
Cole Palmer (4/10):
Wasted a golden early chance to play in Jackson. City took care of their former star comfortably and he barely had a chance to influence the game. If he is to become truly world-class, one has to think he needs to find a way to make sure his impact cannot be dulled to such an extent.
Nicolas Jackson (6/10):
Great play to take advantage of Khusanov's mistake and find Madueke for the first goal. Frustrated in his attempts to score himself but was a handful until he was subbed on the hour for Nkunku.
Jadon Sancho (5/10):
Always willing to run at his man but didn't get beyond Nunes at all. Subbed for Neto.
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Christopher Nkunku (5/10):
Replaced Jackson. Had next to no impact.
Malo Gusto (5/10):
On for James. Beaten in the air before City's third.
Pedro Neto (6/10):
Came on for Sancho. Played a couple of decent crosses into the box but nothing came of them.
Enzo Maresca (5/10):
His changes failed to impact the game at all and he could only watch on as Chelsea squandered a golden opportunity to beat the champions. Some of that comes down to profligacy, but he seemed to be an observer as the game slipped away from his side.