Fewer touches than Sanchez: 8-pass Chelsea star showed Boehly has to spend

Chelsea have taken a huge tumble in their race for Champions League football next season, after drawing 2-2 with 18th-placed Ipswich Town, having gone in 2-0 down at half-time.

The Blues held a whopping 74% possession in the game, generated 2.14 xG, created four big chances and took 34 shots, only converting all of this attacking input into two goals.

Enzo Maresca’s side now sits fifth in the Premier League after 32 games played, one point behind fourth-placed Manchester City and three points behind third-placed Nottingham Forest.

With six games left to play, chances for points are becoming fewer and fewer.

Many will use this result to continue directing their frustration at Maresca, but after two defensive lapses in the first half and plenty of missed chances in the second half, it’s hard to look anywhere beyond the players on the pitch for this one.

One of those at fault (again) was Robert Sanchez.

Robert Sanchez’s performance vs Ipswich

One of the worst performers for Chelsea once more was the man between the sticks. Sanchez has had a shocking spell between the sticks this term and it only got worse when the Tractor Boys came to town.

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Indeed, Sanchez only made two saves in the game, of course, conceded two goals and only completed 64% of his passes, often putting his own teammates under pressure.

The 27-year-old had 35 touches and only completed one of his nine long balls attempted. Not only did he put Chelsea under pressure when playing out from the back, but he also didn’t save the Blues to make up for it when Ipswich did get chances, conceding two goals from four shots on target.

The Sanchez issue isn’t a new one in the Chelsea fanbase; in fact, it is one of the most highly scrutinised. But their other highly scrutinised position is centre-forward, and today’s performance won’t help to eradicate any of those concerns.

Nicolas Jackson’s performance vs Ipswich

Nicolas Jackson has only recently returned from injury, injecting some much-needed pace to the front line, working hard and giving opposition defenders something else to worry about.

However, after a 5/10 display from the Senegal international, according to The Express, it is clear that Todd Boehly needs to spend big in the summer to add to their striking department.

Jackson has made 27 appearances this season, scoring nine goals and providing five assists for the Blues. Despite adding much-needed directness from the front since returning to the side, it’s games like this one against Ipswich that highlight exactly why Chelsea need to invest in a different profile of striker in the summer.

The 23-year-old had as many as five shots in the match, with all five of those shots being off-target, as well as hitting the post from a tight angle at point-blank range. Jackson only managed 20 touches in the game, completing just eight of his 11 passes and losing seven of his 11 duels – ground and aerial.

Chelsea had 19 shots from inside the box, had 55 touches inside the box and put 46 crosses into the penalty area against Ipswich, but Jackson failed to make an impact with all of that action.

This proves Boehly and Clearlake will need to spend big this summer, adding a more box-dominant centre-forward to this squad to fight it out alongside Jackson for the striker position.

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