The decision to replace Edouard Mendy between the sticks, with Kepa Arrizabalaga coming on for the Africa Cup of Nations winner ahead of the penalty shootout against Liverpool in the recent League Cup Final at Wembley had to have been premediated — perhaps a way to soften the blow of dropping the goalkeeper who had played more of a part in getting the club to the final in the first place.
In Thomas Tuchel’s defence, the Spaniard does have a knack for saving spot kicks, or at least the 27-year-old did before he conceded all 11 of the attempts he faced at Wembley. It was certainly a bold decision to make even if pre-planned, to take a risk like that in a cup final can make you look extremely silly as a coach if it doesn’t work out in your favour — and it literally couldn’t have gone any worse for the German gaffer.
Not only did Kepa make a complete fool out of himself by jumping around the goal-line in a bid to put Liverpool’s penalty takers off, which didn’t work in the slightest — see Virgil van Dijk’s spot-kick, for the prime example. But the shootout culminated with the world’s most expensive goalkeeper firing his penalty miles over the crossbar and into the joyous Liverpool fans behind the goal.
Still, it was a decision Tuchel clearly thought would help win Chelsea the game — with Kepa coming on to increase the Stamford Bridge side’s chances in the football betting markets. But while the man who outsmarted Pep Guardiola to win the Champions League last May, getting into the Manchester City manager’s head and forcing him into fielding a strange XI for the final, was left with egg on his face — he still defended his decision.
“We brought Kepa on for penalties before. He is slightly better at penalty-saving and that’s why we did it,” the Chelsea boss said. “Sometimes these things can turn against you, but we took the decision for a reason. I just said in the dressing-room that I hope nobody loses any sleep because that’s absolutely not necessary.
“We don’t know what would’ve happened if we left Edou on the pitch. No blame on Kepa. Blame on me as I’m the guy who takes the decisions. Sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn’t. This is life as a football coach.”
Of course, it’s easy to say now that Mendy should have stayed on for the penalty shootout. But while he had a great game and is arguably a more daunting opponent than Kepa between the sticks, standing tall at 6ft 4in, the reality is that we will never truly know if the Senegalese show-stopper really would have made a difference!
A lot was made of Kepa’s performances while Chelsea’s number one was at the Africa Cup of Nations, with many pundits claiming that the £72m keeper had rediscovered the confidence that was lost under Frank Lampard. And the late penalty save against Plymouth Argyle in the FA Cup earlier in the month, which was probably still fresh in the memory of Tuchel and his coaching staff when they made their decision.
The dust has settled and Tuchel and Kepa need to move on. We can’t keep second-guessing when the decision was made or what would have happened if Mendy had stayed on, but what is for certain is that the German won’t make that substitution so hastily again should Chelsea find themselves in another penalty shootout again before the end of the season.