When Chelsea were on a run of eight straight wins last month, there was still a nagging suspicion that they were lacking in key areas and that it could cost them. The best teams have a top class scorer and a top class goalkeeper, so the theory goes.
Well, Nicolas Jackson hasn't scored since that winning run and is now goalless in his last seven appearances. Meanwhile, Robert Sanchez's error-boosted performance continues. After a mistake against Wolves, another road came to Manchester City.
Sanchez has long had his critics within the Stamford Bridge crowd, although some of the underlying figures are more generous for the Spain International than the eye test. In fact, the projected Goals data suggests he's saving more than he should.
Of the 21 Premier League goalkeepers who have made 10 or more appearances in the competition this season, Sanchez is in the top half, a better shot-stopper than Liverpool's Alisson Becker and Arsenal's David Raya, according to this particular metric.
The flaw in this data is that in a number of cases it is Sanchez himself who is responsible for inflating the number of goals expected of him – and the mistakes he has made over the past week have illustrated that perfectly.
On Monday evening, most goalkeepers would have clearly hit the ball. Sanchez dropped it at the feet of Matt Doherty. No one suggests he should have kept out Doherty's subsequent shot. The problem is that the shot shouldn't have happened.
On Saturday night, Erling Haaland's thoughts were trumped by Sanchez's positioning, leaving City with the relatively simple task of lifting it over him. It's hard to imagine Alisson, for example, making such a positional miscalculation.
Sanchez has now made five mistakes that have led to goals this season, the joint of any player in the Premier League this season besides Arijanet Muric. The Ipswich goalkeeper paid the price by losing his place. Sanchez may now face the same fate.
“He is certainly aware that he has to do better,” Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca said afterwards. “He was fully aware after the match. He knows it perfectly. The good thing is that he is the first to know that he has to do better.
“We certainly trust Robert, but at the same time, as I said, the first to be aware that he is making mistakes is Robert. We continue to trust Robert, but we have a whole week, we see the reaction and we decide for the next games.”
El Khannouss key
When Ruud Van Nistorrooy replaced Bilal El Khannouss with his team behind Agaise Against Fulham last weekend, the Leicester boss was subjected to chants from the home support questioning his decision. He was a little prickly about it after the game.
“Because the crowd [does not want] A replacement does not mean that I have to explain all the reasons behind the replacement. The players coming up… they deserve minutes to help this team too. It's not about one person on this team, on this squad. “
El Khannouss' winning goal for Leicester against Tottenham on Sunday will have felt like vindication for Van Nistelrooy – and his critics. This team may not be about one person, but the summer signing from Genk has been a standout performer for the Foxes.
In this victory, one that ended a run of seven defeats, the Moroccan won possession of the ball more times than any other player on the pitch and also completed more dribbles than anyone in a Spurs shirt – for the creativity that the opposition lacked .
And of course El Khannouss scored the decisive goal. He did this despite not having a single touch in the Tottenham penalty area. He didn't have to enter the 18-yard box to curl the ball around the diving Antonin Kinsky and into the bottom corner.
With Abdul Fatawu in the long term, there is a huge onus on El Khannouss to provide the spark. Whether it will be enough is unclear, but this goal has lifted Leicester out of the relegation zone. At the age of 20, his future is certainly in the Premier League.
Huijsen has it all
Another young player impressing in the Premier League is Dean Huijsen, although the defender is having a much more serene time of things at high-flying Bournemouth. The teenager was outstanding again in his side's remarkable 5-0 win over Nottingham Forest.
It was a day for the Cherries' attackers, but what the precocious Huijsen brings to Andoni Iraola's high-tempo team is a bit of calm. Of the nine players on the field to attempt 30 passes in the game, he was the one with by far the best success rate at 89.2 percent.
Sixteen of his passes were in the final third, more than any other Bournemouth player, and what's particularly interesting about Huijsen's play is that those passes were quite easy as his ball-feeding ability often helps him get him high up the pitch.
He carried the ball for a total of 298 meters against Forest, with the second-longest average carry distance of a Premier League player at the weekend behind only winger Anthony Gordon. Alongside Illia Zabarnyi, it adds another dimension to Bournemouth's game.
At 6ft 5in this is a defender who could have it all. Dutch born, Huijsen says he feels more Spanish and credits his positional skills to hone his craft in Italy. Defenders aren't built in labs, but if they were, his mix of traits would be a good start.
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