The remarkable rise of Robert Sanchez to Brighton number one

Back in August when Brighton & Hove Albion’s players reported for pre-season training, 22-year-old Robert Sanchez returned to the American Express Elite Football Performance Centre as the Seagulls’ fifth choice goalkeeper.

The Spaniard had spent the previous two campaigns undertaking nondescript loan spells in League Two with Forest Green Rovers and League One with Rochdale.

Another temporary switch seemed a certainty as Sanchez was fifth choice at Brighton, behind Maty Ryan, David Button, Jason Steele and Christian Walton in the pecking order.

When Button was sold to West Bromwich Albion for £1 million and Walton injured himself in a friendly against Chelsea, Sanchez suddenly found himself elevated to third choice. His chances of heading out again to League One or the Championship were now gone until January at least when Walton was due to return.

It is funny how these things work out, isn’t it? If Walton’s injury against Chelsea does not happen, fourth choice Sanchez gets his move to a lower league club.

Instead of getting a shock opportunity to become Brighton number one in December when Ryan’s form deserts him, Robert Sanchez is miles from the Amex. How different would the Albion’s 2020-21 season look had Sanchez not been around to take over the gloves from Ryan?

For Sanchez has been a revelation since Potter took the risk of throwing him in at the deep end of a Premier League relegation battle. It was a massive gamble from Potter, akin to sticking everything on zero on the roulette table at one of the best online casinos nz, but as the Seagulls soar up the table and Sanchez breaks records it is one that has paid off handsomely.

A lot of the focus for the Albion’s struggles in the first half of the season tended to be on what was going wrong in an attacking sense. Whenever the old xG stats were wheeled out, they were mainly used to highlight that Brighton were not clinical enough in front of goal and so the strikers must therefore be to blame for just two wins from the first 18 games of the season.

And yes, whilst Brighton’s forward line were guilty of missing a lot of easy opportunities, they were not helped by a defence who were leaking sloppy goals either.

Over half of the goals Brighton conceded in the first half of the season came from set pieces as Ryan and his defence looked less comfortable dealing with aerial balls into the box than a vegan at a hog roast.

With such issues at the back, the Albion found themselves having to score two or three times every game just to be in with a chance of taking a point.

Many fans saw a clinical striker as the answer to Brighton’s problems; Potter though decided that tightening up at the other end was a better alternative.

Sanchez initially replaced Ryan for November’s 2-1 defeat at Tottenham Hotspur. Ryan returned for the 0-0 draw against Burnley five days later and despite picking up five points from four games with the Socceroo back between the posts, he was dropped again for December’s trip to Fulham.

The change this time was permanent. Sanchez kept a clean sheet at Craven Cottage, Potter confirmed in his post-game interview that the Spaniard was now his number one and Sanchez has not looked back since.

With Sanchez in the team, Brighton have gone from being a point above the relegation zone to 10 clear of Fulham; they have beaten Spurs at home and won at champions Liverpool; and Sanchez has written himself into the history books as the first ever goalkeeper to keep four consecutive clean sheets for the Albion in the top flight.

His shot stopping ability has impressed, he has incredibly quick reactions for a player of his size and his 6’5 frame allows him to get to shots which are out of reach of most other goalkeepers.

Rather too much was made about Ryan’s height – some Brighton fans would have you believe that he made Frodo Baggins look like the Jolly Green Giant – but the extra five inches that Robert Sanchez has on Ryan have been crucial in allowing the Albion’s new number one to make saves his predecessor would never have reached.

Where Sanchez has made the biggest difference though is in his command of the area. Virtually any aerial ball which is pumped into the penalty box he will come and confidently claim.

That catch through a crowd of players within touching distance of the penalty spot from a Liverpool corner in the final seconds at Anfield was one of the most beautiful pieces of goalkeeper you will ever see.

Burnley’s threat in the first half of the 1-1 draw at Turf Moor was severely lessened by Sanchez eating for breakfast every ball the Clarets launched into the box.

In the second half, the hosts did something most un-Burnley like and started playing football on the ground as they could see there would be no joy in the air against Sanchez.

Suddenly, Brighton have stopped conceding quite so many goals from set pieces. Even if Lewis Dunk/Adam Webster/Ben White/Joel Veltman/Dan Burn lose their man, there is less danger of it resulting in a free header because Sanchez is dealing with the danger himself.

That lends itself to improved defensive performances in open play. Brighton’s back three are making less mistakes and playing with more confidence; in part, that comes because they are confident in the man behind them.

The most remarkable aspect of that run of four consecutive clean sheets was that Sanchez hardly made a save against The Leeds United, Fulham or Liverpool.

His only stop of any note in recording those four shutouts came from Carlos Vinicius’ snapshot in the win over Spurs, requiring superb reactions and a strong hand to push the Brazilian striker’s shot around the post. Not only has Sanchez improved the goalkeeping department, but he has caused a noticeable improvement in the defence too.

For all our praise of Sanchez, there is one glaring weakness in his game that we have seen so far. At Manchester City and against Burnley, he showed a touch of the Wayne Hendersons in parrying shots back into the danger zone rather than away from goal.

You might be able to get away with that in League One, but at the highest level opponents will punish it, as Phil Foden and Johann Berg Gudmunsson did by pouncing on the loose ball and steering the rebounds home to score.

The good news is that can be easily coached out of him. What will be more interesting is seeing what happens when the time comes for Sanchez’s form to go through a bit of a rough patch. How he copes and bounces back from mistakes will be telling about just how good a goalkeeper Brighton have on their hands.

Right now though, it looks like Potter has unearthed a number one who is destined for the top. Working under the best goalkeeper coach in the country in Ben Roberts, he is only going to get better.

If Roberts can improve Robert Sanchez to the same degree he did Ryan and David Stockdale before him, then it is frightening what Brighton & Hove Albion’s new number one could go onto achieve.