Blues goalkeeper Robert Sanchez has called on his team-mates to continue to give our all in the remaining nine games of the season, despite a frustrating 1-0 defeat against Arsenal at the Emirates last time out.
Despite going a goal down early in last Sunday’s Premier League fixture, the Blues remained steadfast in our approach - coming close on multiple occasions - although ultimately we left north London empty-handed.
The Blues will now regroup and shift our focus to the next challenge after the conclusion of the March international break, knowing that every point will be vital in the race for European qualification, as we approach the final stretch of the campaign.
‘We were talking in the changing room [after the game] and we know there are nine games left now,’ Sanchez explained after full-time.
‘We know we lost and we need to take that home, but we need to keep improving and trying to do our best to get hopefully as many points as we can.
‘We are going to go the max in every game, and hopefully win every game. If we don’t get top four, myself and everyone in the team will be very disappointed.’
Although Mikel Merino’s header proved to be the difference, Sanchez believes we could have taken a share of the spoils against the Gunners, especially had we made a stronger start, but the shot-stopper praised the team’s overall performance.
He continued: ‘We are disappointed because we felt we deserved more. We felt we played a really good game but if I have to say something, maybe in the first 20 minutes we could have been a bit more on it. That’s the only thing, but I feel sorry for the boys because they played really well.
‘We knew the game plan and that’s what we followed. Sometimes in the game things change so you have to stay focused and change things, but the game plan was clear and I think we did well. The chances didn’t come, that’s the only thing.’
With both sides pushing for the all-important second goal in the game, the Spaniard played a crucial role in keeping us in the contest, producing key saves to deny the hosts.
The goalkeeper added: ‘Being down 1-0, it’s important to make saves because if you go down 2-0 then it’s difficult to come back. For me personally, it’s about staying focused, staying in the game and helping the team.’