Watching the images of the celebration of the past Champions League in Porto, no one could have distinguished if the starting goalkeeper was Kepa Arrizabalaga or Edouard mendy. Because the Spanish goal celebrated more than anyone that title, the most important of his career, the one that integrated him as one more in the Chelsea And now it gives you the peace of mind to be important again at Stamford Bridge.
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After having lost the starting position with Mendy, Kepa has been reborn, has accepted his role as a substitute (for now) and has shown himself to be in tune when the situation requires him: a clean sheet against him Tottenham on Sunday and third penalty shoot-out won with the Chelsea this Wednesday.
Hero for the third time
Kepa, which already stopped him two pitches in 2018 in the semifinals of the Europa League to the Eintracht Frankfurt and saved one against him Villarreal in the final of the European Super Cup, he also became the hero against him Aston Villa in the League Cup when saving a shot.
His ability as a penalty shootout arises from, first of all, the meticulous study he makes of the dynamics of his rivals and also from the enormous confidence that the Ondarroa goalkeeper has at the moment, who knows that, in a role other than that of starter, has shone again in the Chelsea.
The European Super Cup, a turning point
The turning point was the duel against him Villarreal, when he was entrusted with the task of leaving in the 119th minute to fight on penalties. Kepa it did its job and the blues lifted the title. A night of glory that supported the goalkeeper’s idea of staying in London and not having looked for a way out in the summer.
Much of the blame is on the figure that has unified the entire squad: Thomas tuchel. German has become the glue that has made the Chelsea go from being a group of scattered stars to a European champion team. The resurgence of Spanish is no coincidence, because it also highlights how it brought ostracism to Marcos Alonso, Antonio Rudiger and even to a N’Golo Kanté that he had lost weight in the squad and is now the best midfielder in the Champions League.
Tuchel He has made a team with two goalkeepers without a fixed role get along, maintain a good relationship and know how to help each other. Mendy the change in the Super Cup was not taken badly, just like Kepa agreed to only play one match in the past Champions.
“It is not necessary for him to show me that he is a great goalkeeper, because I already know that. I see him every day in training,” he said. Tuchel after the match before him town. “Who cares what was paid for him? We have two very good goalkeepers and we need both of them. I feel like the pressure has been taken off him and he deserves it, because the pressure of how much it cost is not his fault.” .
“It is not necessary for him to show me that he is a great goalkeeper, because I already know that. I see him every day in training.”
With internal work and constant support in front of the public, Kepa has been greatly strengthened by Tuchel and he is aware that the project taking place at Stamford Bridge is unique, surely the most powerful in Europe. He is optimistic in recovering the number one, just as he is optimistic of returning to the national team, to which he has already shown his total loyalty. When they called him to go to Las Rozas to the parallel bubble of the Eurocopa, he canceled his vacation and showed up without hesitation.
He has won the affection of the fans ‘blue’
Kepa, which not long ago, in the last stage of Lampard, ducked his head on the bench and hid, he has resurfaced. He has opened up, with his letter in ‘The Players Tribune’, he has won the affection of the people and knows that he is important in the Chelsea. Now he only has to recover the goal, although, as he says, the individual is sometimes left aside: “There is no better feeling in football than winning as a team.”