Neville has slammed Sanchez for his performance in Chelsea’s 3-1 defeat by City

Gary Neville has criticized Robert Sanchez for his performance in Chelsea's 3-1 defeat to Man City.

The 27-year-old Sánchez has developed into Enzo Maresca's number one goalkeeper this season, playing 21 of the Blues' 23 Premier League games.

However, the Spaniard's actions became increasingly error-ridden and Sánchez was once again blamed against City when he recklessly ran out of his area before being lobbed by Erling Haaland as the hosts went 2-1 up.

It came after Sanchez made a blunder in Chelsea's 3-1 win over Wolves on Monday and no player has made more mistakes leading to an opponent goal in the Premier League this season than the Blues stopper.

Sánchez was even jeered by the away fans at the Etihad during the second half and Marcel lashed out at him after Haaland's goal.

“What's the goalkeeper doing?” Neville said during commentary. 'Why is he there? Such a bad, bad decision.”

Later, the Man United legend said on the Gary Neville podcast: 'We need to talk about the goalkeeper. That wouldn't have been a goal if the goalkeeper wasn't 25 yards from his line on the edge of the penalty area.

'What is he doing? I mean, he makes a lot of mistakes and I remember being quite harsh on Karius at Liverpool a few years ago when he came through and made mistakes.

'Liverpool were a team that grew to a point where they could win the title, but they wouldn't have won the title with Karius in net because he made too many mistakes.

'It's too important a position and I think Chelsea will have to look at their goalkeeper at the moment.

“It's obviously because he makes way too many mistakes week in and week out. He gets away with it for a few weeks, but today he didn't get away with it. It was a small turning point in the match.'

Former Chelsea defender Gary Cahill echoed Neville's thoughts, insisting that while Sánchez has put in good performances this season, he needs to do much better.

“It's a strange decision from the goalkeeper,” he said. 'You can see it in his reaction. He is frustrated with himself for taking a high position.

'He notices that he is a bit stranded. You're not going to make up that distance. As soon as he goes out, Haaland makes a decision.

'I think the Chelsea manager really likes him. He has shown confidence in him, but if you make a mistake in that position you are obviously punished and he has to eliminate that from his game.

“The noise comes from making mistakes, there's a bit of pressure on your back from making mistakes and he's done that a few times this season.”

Cahill continued: “He's saved them in games at times too and I've seen him make some fantastic saves.

“He can play at the back, which is what Enzo (Maresca) wants to happen in terms of the build-up, but he has to root out these mistakes.”

Meanwhile, Jamie Redknapp called out Sanchez's lack of 'common sense', before highlighting the possibility of back-up keeper Filip Jorgensen replacing the Spaniard and explaining why his lack of form is a major problem for Chelsea.

“Playing in a different position gives you some rest,” Redknapp explained. 'But as a goalkeeper it's a bit different.

'The problem is that I think the other goalkeeper (Jorgensen) might not be at that top level either, so Maresca is probably thinking about what to do.

“It (Sanchez's form) is giving everyone nerves, and it's becoming very public now. The Chelsea fans get nervous when he is on the ball and worry he will make a mistake when he is, and he makes that worse by doing things like today.

'Today it is purely decision-making. That's a bad decision he's making, he doesn't need to come out like he did. If he stays in his goal he (Haaland) probably won't score.

'So from his perspective it's just bad goalkeeping. All you can do is work hard in training, keep doing the right things and turn around this form that is not good enough. But things aren't looking good for him right now.”

Chelsea's number 2 Jorgensen has made just two appearances in the Premier League this season, although he has featured regularly in cup competitions, making 13 appearances in total.

And after the defeat to City, Maresca raised the prospect of replacing Sánchez with the Danish stopper.

“We certainly trust Robert, but at the same time he is aware that he makes mistakes,” Maresca said. 'We continue to trust Robert, but we still have a whole week, see the reaction and decide for the next matches.'

Maresca admitted ahead of the match that Sánchez is 'still far, far away from where I want him' and that the 27-year-old's long-term future appears under threat.

“Robert is certainly aware that he needs to do better,” the Chelsea boss added. 'He knows it perfectly. Right now it is. He is the first to know that things have to be better.'

Chelsea dropped to sixth place after the defeat, after which Maresca's team returned to action on Monday a week later as hosts of West Ham.