"He clearly has a lot of faith in the 30-year-old" - Garth Crooks says Chelsea star repaid trust shown by Tuchel during 2-1 win over Leicester City
BBC Sport pundit Garth Crooks included Chelsea goalkeeper Edouard Mendy in his Team of the Week after his dominant display between the posts against Leicester City. He suggested that Thomas Tuchel's decision to start the Senegalese in goal after his mediocre and error-prone performance against Leeds United showed how much the German trusts him.
Despite going down to 10 men in the 28th minute after Conor Gallagher was sent-off, Chelsea managed to grind a 2-1 win against the Foxes at Stamford Bridge. Mendy made some crucial late saves to deny the visitors an equalizer. The Senegal international got the better of Jamie Vardy on two occasions before denying Ayoze Perez's goal-bound effort.
While picking his Team of the Week after Matchday 4 of the Premier League for the BBC, Crooks wrote:
"What a difference a week makes. Against Leeds, Edouard Mendy had what I could only describe as a shocker. Six days later, he makes two saves that deny Leicester, with 11 men, from sharing the points with a Chelsea team who were down to 10."
He added:
"The save from Ayoze Perez was absolutely brilliant and would have gone in had it not been for the Senegal goalkeeper's fingertip save to push the ball on to the bar.
"Some managers would have left Mendy out after his performance against Leeds but not Thomas Tuchel. He clearly has a lot of faith in the 30-year-old."
The Chelsea manager had to watch the game from the stands as he was serving his one-game ban following a fiesty incident with Antonio Conte against Tottenham Hotspur. However, Tuchel will be back in the dugout on Tuesday (August 30) when the Blues visit Southampton for their mid-week fixture.
Along with Mendy, striker Raheem Sterling was also present on Crooks' BBC Team of the Week. The England international finally broke his duck for his new club and scored a fine brace to help his side earn all three points.
Chelsea legend all praise for Brazil veteran after solid display in victory against Leicester
Former Blues ace John Terry took to Twitter after the west London club's hard-fought victory against the Foxes to praise centre-back Thiago Silva. Although 37, the Brazilian is showing no signs of slowing down. He continues to put in rock-solid performances while playing and commanding Chelsea's rearguard.
Replying to a tweet by the Blues' official account featuring a spirited Silva, Terry wrote:
"I F#C#ING Love this man."
The Blues are sixth in the league table with two wins, one draw and one loss.