In the summer, Xabi Alonso was ruthless, and he had to be. Chelsea had a massive squad, and without European football, it needed to be cut. He was ruthless with Robert Sanchez, too.

Alonso’s first game was Fulham away. Throughout the summer, all the signs looked as if he was going to back Sanchez as his first-choice goalkeeper. But Sanchez was at fault for both goals in the 3-2 victory.

Days after the win, Chelsea moved to sign Emi Martinez, and Sanchez was made available to leave. Alonso did not like what he saw from the Spanish goalkeeper and immediately moved to replace him in goal.

Now, Alonso has to do exactly the same thing with another Chelsea player, after watching his Chelsea side lose on penalties at Anfield on Wednesday night. Wesley Fofana cannot be given another chance.

Wesley Fofana deserves the Robert Sanchez treatment

Fofana has already earned a reputation for being guilty of big mistakes. In the 5-2 loss to PSG last term, Fofana was guilty of being badly positioned. He was sent off against Burnley, and Burnley equalised.

Going back further, Fofana was at fault for Newcastle’s first goal in a 2-2 draw in December 2025. He dribbled out of defence aimlessly and was tackled by Sandro Tonali, resulting in Nick Woltemade’s goal.

Well, on Wednesday night, he was guilty of two. There is no explanation for his handball, two minutes after Morgan Rogers had scored a penalty. Cody Gakpo equalised, with Darren England giving a penalty.

Then, in the penalty shootout, Fofana blazed the ball over the bar. Valentin Barco and Emmanuel Emegha also missed, though Barco hit the post and Emegha’s effort was saved. Fofana never looked confident.

There is no doubting Fofana is a good player. He won nine of 11 duels last night, but he is error-prone, and for a while now, it is costing Chelsea results. Alonso has to remove Fofana from Chelsea’s side.

Alonso needs to keep standards high; Fofana must be dropped

Alonso saw Sanchez’s performance against Fulham and realised he was going to cost Chelsea points. The same approach should be given when considering Fofana, for the examples above. He costs Chelsea.

He doesn’t particularly weaken the Blues in general play, but is a string of bad moments and big mistakes that cost Chelsea points or progression to further rounds. The issue is, Maxence Lacroix is now injured.

Alonso may feel he is stuck with Fofana. But there are options; Josh Acheampong can play at centre-back with Levi Colwill, while Jorrel Hato impressed in that role last season. Tayo Subuloye is a serious talent.

He starred in pre-season for Chelsea and was on the bench against Liverpool. Even Aaron Anselmino remains an untested talent, with the Argentine’s attributes surely suiting what the Chelsea gaffer wants.

Despite Lacroix’s injury, Alonso has got to think enough is enough with Fofana, who earned a 0/10 rating for his performance last night. He absolutely has to be removed from Chelsea’s lineup moving forward.