Enzo Maresca’s reign as Chelsea manager got off to an underwhelming start on Sunday as the Blues were comfortably beaten 2-0 by defending champions Man City.
It took Premier League Golden Boot winner Erling Haaland just 18 minutes to open his account for the new season, the striker powering through Chelsea’s defence and dinking over Sanchez.
Chelsea had a promising spell after half time but City thwarted the hosts’ momentum before putting the game to bed through Mateo Kovacic’s long-range effort that Sanchez failed to keep out.
Sanchez also had a few nervy moments on the ball as Chelsea tried to implement Maresca’s new system and Neville says he looked ‘worried to death’.
The 26-year-old former Brighton star has started the 2024/25 campaign as Chelsea’s No. 1 but faces competition from several other goalkeepers, including £20m summer signing Filip Jorgensen.
‘The goalkeeper was a disappointment today,’ Neville said on his Sky Sports podcast from Stamford Bridge.
‘I always fear when a new player is signed – and Jorgensen has come in – because the current player is probably looking over his shoulder a bit.
‘He [Sanchez] is probably worried to death and maybe we saw that today because he did look a little nervy.
‘But there’s not too much for Chelsea to be concerned about. There will be bigger fights down the road.’
Despite beginning the Premier League season with a home defeat, Maresca praised his team’s performance against the ‘best team in the world’.
While Manchester City are bidding to win an unprecedented fifth straight league title, Chelsea are hoping for some much-needed stability and to improve on last season’s sixth-place finish.
‘The performance was good and we competed against the best team in the world,’ said the former Leicester City boss. ‘We played well and created chances.
‘The biggest difference was inside the box and how they managed the ball at the end, they are a master. We don’t like to lose games but the performance was good.
‘We can for sure improve many things, we’ve been together for just six weeks. At the same moment, we liked to analyse the game and we tried to play football and create chances. It’s not easy but we did well.
‘It’s always tough because many of them deserve to play from the start. We have another game soon so they have chances to play for sure.’
Chelsea begin their Europa Conference League campaign on Thursday night against Swiss side Servette, while Manchester city return to action next Saturday against newly-promoted Ipswich Town.
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