As Kepa leaves for Real Madrid, Pochettino informed Sanchez as one of the starters against Liverpool on Sunday(13 August). The Blues are set to lock horns with the Reds in their opening league fixture in their 2023/2024 campaign this Sunday. The club secured Sanchez’s services for 25 million from Brighton this summer transfer.
When asked about whether Sanchez will start against Liverpool this Sunday, the former PSG coach said in a pre-match press conference:
“It’s going to be a very good competition. We needed to sign another. The club followed him for a long period and was a good opportunity for the club to sign him, and a good challenge for Kepa also. Kepa is three, four weeks with us, and is a little bit ahead of him. For the players not going to play they need to fight to catch their teammates playing in their place. That is competition and we will improve.”
Pochettino believes to add more keepers to the squad, however, confirms Sanchez will start against Liverpool. The Argentine tactician also added:
“Chelsea have two very good keepers and excellent keepers to fight for the position. They are clever enough, they are very mature. They know they are going to fight to be No. 1. With time we will see if Robert is there and can challenge Kepa.”
Also read: Chelsea vs Liverpool: Match Preview, Team News and Prediction
Sanchez will have to compete for the position:
The Argentine tactician looked in no mood to chase away from questions in the press conference. Pochettino believes that Chelsea are currently in a transitionary period, more so than Liverpool. The Reds had a terrible season last year, finished fifth in the standings, losing out on a place in the UEFA Champions League. Ahead of their Liverpool clash, Pochettino said:
“I think we are more in transition than Liverpool. I am new here and Klopp is for how long in Liverpool? 7 years. You can anticipate a transition, you can see what is going to come, and you can be ahead of the problems. I think it’s being clever in how you anticipate the situation.”
However, Pochettino admitted that as manager of a big club like Chelsea, he cannot make any excuses and must bounce back this season. He added:
“Of course, we are Chelsea, the history of the club is to win. We cannot give the message that we are in transition, we need to be ready to win and we are going to be ready to win vs Liverpool even if they are a really good team. I’m not going to accept a different way to think. No excuses for us because we need to be strong and we have very good players who can fight in the best way.”
Also read: Ukrainian defender named Mohamed Salah as the toughest opponent
