When Thibaut Cortois was called up to Real Madrid in 2018, Chelsea lost what has become the world’s best goalkeeper when he stays injury-free. For Real Madrid, the transfer has led the club to titles, for Chelsea a continuous goalkeeping crisis that is not finished. The question that needs to be asked is whether it is the goalkeepers or the club that is the problem.
The world’s most expensive goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga was brought in to fill the crater left by the Belgian. As you know, this did not go particularly well. The Spaniard had his games with outstanding play, but Chelsea fans remember him – who is currently on loan and doing well at Bournemouth – for the big and recurring goalkeeping blunders.
Edouard Mendy was brought in in 2020 to solve the goalkeeper crisis, three years later the Senegalese goalkeeper is in the Saudi Arabian league. In came Robert Sanchez in 2023, last month he lost the first goalkeeper position after several blunders.
So who took over?
Danish Filip Jørgensen was brought to Stamford Bridge in 2024, took over as the first goalkeeper, and voila, the Dane was also behind a goalkeeper blister against Aston Villa.
So what is Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca doing ahead of Tuesday’s Premier League game against Southampton? Gives the goalkeeper instructions even a five-year-old would understand, plus “threat”.
Chelsea won solidly, Jørgensen kept a clean sheet, but every time the goalkeeper played out along the ground instead of sending the ball over the halfway line to attack, he was met with boos from the supporters. After the game, the Chelsea manager explains the arrangement.
-My message to Filip was that if you kick far, I’ll replace you. So he just did what I told him to do. It’s hard for Filip. It was difficult for Robert when he played. I mean, it’s difficult for all goalkeepers. They are just following the plan,” he says at a press conference.
Since 2018, Chelsea have changed coaches at a rapid pace: Conte, Sarri, Lampard, Tuchel, Potter, then a guest appearance by Lampard, Pochettino, then Maresca. This over the past six or seven years.
Maybe the goalkeeper problem doesn’t just lie with the guys with the gloves? With strong coaches coming and going with their interpretation of the perfect Chelsea game, it doesn’t exactly create easy working conditions for the defenders or the last defender.
