How quickly things can change! Edouard Mendy (30) knows this well, he who rubbed shoulders with the Division of Honor and unemployment to a victory in the Champions League in just 6 years. Crowned best goalkeeper of the season by UEFA and winner of the goalkeeper of the year trophy by FIFA a year ago, the Senegalese has since lifted the African Cup of Nations. Last Monday, he again finished 4th in the Lev Yachine trophy won by Thibaut Courtois. Yet last night the 2020 Champions League winner once again sat on the Chelsea bench and watched Kepa Arrizabalaga shine in the nets on the Brentford lawn. It is even a little thanks to the Spaniard that the Blues brought back a point (0-0).
If Raya in the goal opposite saved his team at the end of the match, Kepa (28 years old) had kept his people afloat by making 5 saves. Lining of Mendy throughout the reign of Thomas Tuchel, the former Athletic finds the light. He can thank Graham Potter, who prefers him to Mendy since his arrival on the Blues bench. “I was really impressed with his character and his personality. He takes responsibility and it’s good when these kind of people are rewarded for their efforts., explained the coach before the meeting on Wednesday evening. For the moment, this choice proves him right since the Basque is 5 games in a row in all competitions without taking a goal (8 games played in total).
Potter prefers Kepa to Mendy
Against Aston Villa this weekend already (2-0 victory)Kepa Arrizabalaga had performed a few miracles, including a decisive triple save when the score was only 1-0 in favor of the Blues, confirming Potter’s decision. “It’s better to let football decide. Kepa has done very well so far and he has been supported fantastically by Edu (Mendy). Kepa’s return to form is really good news for everyone. It’s good that we have competition in this position, we need players to push each other because that’s how they improve. » If Chelsea have regained their defensive solidity in part thanks to the performance of their new starting goalkeeper, for Mendy this decision comes at the worst of times.
Huge number of Kepa on this quadruple opportunity for Villa! ????????#AVLCHE pic.twitter.com/DOOyxqQGGf
— CANAL+ Foot (@CanalplusFoot) October 16, 2022
The Senegalese international (25 selections) must leave for the World Cup in a month in Qatar. He hasn’t played since September 3 and was going through a big period of doubt. Impeccable since his transfer to Chelsea in the summer of 2020, he lived a real fairy tale, before descending from his pedestal so quickly. The fault of a faulty foot game last spring in the quarter-final first leg of the Champions League against Real Madrid. That day, his mistake allowed Benzema to score the 3-1 goal. At the start of the season on the 3rd day of the Premier League, and still lacking in confidence, he committed the same kind of dumpling against Leeds, for a heavy 3-0 defeat.
A downgrade a few weeks before the World Cup
Thomas Tuchel had already taken the lead by aligning Kepa in his last match at Dinamo Zagreb in C1. The new defeat in Croatia will sign the dismissal of the German technician but not the end of worries for Mendy. To make matters worse, the former Rémois was slightly injured, missing the last international meeting before the World Cup, and above all, giving way to his direct competitor, who saw there an unexpected opportunity to bounce back. Mendy’s downgrade also means the Spaniard’s sudden and unexpected return to the fore. Transferred for 80 M€ in 2018, he never gave satisfaction to Chelsea, too rarely decisive. Also criticized by fans who never trusted him, it looks like his 5th season at the club is the right one. To the great displeasure of Édouard Mendy.
