What Edouard Mendy Did To Support Kepa Before Chelsea’s Penalty Shootout Win Over Villarreal

 One game completed; a trophy won. This could very well prove a very special season for Thomas Tuchel and his Chelsea players.

The Blues’ 2021/22 campaign got underway in Belfast yesterday night with the UEFA Super Cup against Europa League winners Villarreal. It was far from easy.

Chelsea went ahead at Windsor Park through Hakim Ziyech, who they later lost in the opening 45 minutes to a shoulder injury.

Ziyech’s departure and a lack of match fitness among the first-team group told in the second period. Villarreal took control and netted a deserved equaliser through Gerard Moreno. From that point on, the teams couldn’t be separated. Not even extra time made a difference.

And so penalties, for which Kepa Arrizabalga was introduced from the substitutes’ bench in place of Edouard Mendy. It was a big call by Thomas Tuchel, but one he explained after the Spaniard had saved two spot-kicks to secure victory was not taken in haste or on a whim.

“When we arrived for my first cup game against Barnsley, we had a talk with the goalkeeping coaches and the analysis department,” Tuchel explained in his post-match press conference.

“They came up with these statistics that Willy Caballero is the best in penalty saving from thousands of them, second best was Kepa and third best in Edou in this statistic.

“We spoke to the goalkeepers openly that it can be like this in a situation like today that we make this change, not for personal reasons, but to help the team’s chances because we have this statistic.