“He’s smarter” – Chelsea fans demand opportunity for player ‘on the bench for too long’ after defeats to Brentford and Real Madrid
Chelsea fans have urged the club to start Kepa Arrizabalaga instead of Edouard Mendy for their upcoming fixtures. That comes after Mendy's high-profile error during the Blues' 3-1 defeat to Real Madrid in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League quarterfinals.
Mendy was already twice beaten by Karim Benzema in the first half after the Frenchman scored two headed goals. The 34-year-old forward then secured his hat-trick after the Chelsea custodian fumbled his pass to Antonio Rudiger. Madrid cleared the ball following an attack from the hosts. Mendy was hurried by an incoming Karim Benzema, which resulted in an error.
Blues supporters on Twitter were not happy with Mendy's performance on Wednesday night and have demanded that Arrizabalaga get a chance in the starting XI. Some have even suggested that the Spanish goalkeeper has been on the bench for way too long.
Here are some tweets in this regard:
Mendy is supposed to be benched for the rest of the season 7 goals in the space of 5 days, it’s Kepa time
Nah start Kepa next leg
Kepa have to start against Southampton, he's been on the bench for too long.
I love Mendy, I refuse to believe this is anything but a blip BUT this man needs resting on Saturday, we have Kepa, use him.
I just want Kepa in my goal .
@Vany_baby00 Exactly Mendy made mistakes in back to back matches now. Then why not try Kepa or even Bettinelli… Mendy is relaxed and feels he has no competition.
🤬🤬 #CFC #Blues @dreamchelseacfc
I think Kepa for the weekend game against Southampton and probably the second leg in Madrid.
Time for Mendy to know No.1 position is on merit. He either up his game or go to warming the bench‼️🤬🤬 #CFC #Blues @dreamchelseacfc https://t.co/PjpHsu5Jzp
Kepa can't make the saves Mendy makes, But if Kepa lost that ball to Benzema he would make it very difficult for Benz to score that.
He's not as good as Mendy, but he's smarter than him.
@Tuchel_era I agree 💯
Kepa Arrizabalaga has barely gotten a run in the Chelsea first team this season. The Spanish international has made just 15 appearances this season, with only four of them coming in the Premier League and one in the UEFA Champions League.
The 27-year-old shot-stopper has mostly been used in domestic cup competitions by manager Thomas Tuchel.
Arrizabalaga was used as a substitute goalkeeper during the 2022 Carabao Cup final in February against Liverpool. However, the former Athletic Bilbao custodian failed to save any of Liverpool's 11 penalties and also blazed his spot kick wide. That was the only miss in an epic shootout where 21 other players scored.
It's worth mentioning that Kepa Arrizabalaga is the world's most expensive goalkeeper. Chelsea paid around €80 million to Bilbao back in the summer of 2018 for his services.
Chelsea need a response against Southampton following back-to-back defeats
Chelsea have lost consecutive games across competitions since club football returned after the international break last week. Thomas Tuchel's me suffered a shock 4-1 defeat against Brentford before their loss in the UEFA Champions League at home to Real Madrid.
The reigning European champions will now want a positive result when they travel to Southampton on Saturday. It's worth noting that the Saints lost three consecutive league games before picking up a 1-1 draw against Leeds United at the weekend.
Attention now turns to #SouChe this weekend. 👊 https://t.co/glyRT0fmEm
The Blues remaib third in the league standings, having accumulated 59 points from 29 games. They are five points clear of fourth-placed Tottenham Hotspur and have a game in hand as well.