Robert Sanchez against West Ham. (Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)

Leave him alone!' – Roberto Di Matteo slams critics and urges people to back off Chelsea star

Originally posted on Chelsea News | By Charlie Patrick | Last updated Sep 13, 2025 9:30 AM ET

Roberto Di Matteo has slammed critics of Robert Sanchez, as he leapt to the defence of the under fire Chelsea goalkeeper.

Sanchez is now in his third season as Chelsea’s number one, but the common consensus is the club need a top class goalkeeper.

The Spaniard did shows signs of improvement towards the end of last season, but there’s no evidence yet that he’s eliminated the costly errors from his game.

Roberto Di Matteo defends Robert Sanchez

Sanchez cost Chelsea a number of goals last season, but his shot stopping saved the Blues on a number of occasions.

Chelsea had the opportunity to sign Mike Maignan earlier this summer, whilst Joe Cole has also questioned Sanchez.

The Blues were also linked with Gianluigi Donnarumma, but the Italian swapped Paris Saint Germain for Manchester City in the end.

John Obi Mikel can’t understand why Chelsea didn’t replace Sanchez this summer, but Di Matteo has now leapt to the goalkeeper’s defence.

“Leave him alone! I had this question last season,” he told GOAL.

“You only focus on the mistakes. I know a goalkeeper makes a mistake and it is highlighted because most of the time it is a goal, but there are positives.

“Switch it around for once. Look at how many good saves he made, how many points he won for the team. Yes, he has made some mistakes — every goalkeeper makes mistakes. But we can move on and be objective about Sanchez.

“OK, he has made six/seven mistakes that led to goals but how many points has he saved for the club with crucial saves? Let’s look at that. I think he’s a very good goalkeeper.”