Chelsea vs Aston Villa: Three lessons learnt from chaotic cup tie
3. Kepa Arrizabalaga is the king of penalties
Kepa Arrizabalaga has done it again. He has once again won Chelsea the game in a penalty shootout. The Spaniard was used in a controversial tactic by Tuchel in the Super Cup last month. The whole game was played by Edouard Mendy, however, during the time of the penalty shootout, Tuchel substituted Mendy for Arrizabalaga. According to Tuchel, Arrizabalaga had been the better penalty stopper in the training sessions, that is why he was chosen to take part in them. Chelsea went on to win that shootout against Villarreal, thanks to some brilliant keeping by Arrizabalaga.
Arrizabalaga did it all again on Wednesday. He denied Ashley Young by putting him off, which made Cole hit the crossbar. He also made a fabulous save from Marvelous Nakamba’s penalty. It was truly delightful to watch Arrizabalaga at his best again. Although he has cemented himself as the penalty saver at Chelsea, his overall game has to be commented on, as well. Arrizabalaga has improved massively. He is no longer indecisive and lacking confidence. He used to be very hesitant to go forward and collect the ball, but he showed his dominance against Villa.
He also denied Archer twice in a one-versus-one situations. Archer finally scored past Arrizabalaga in the 64′, but it was a bullet of a header and no keeper in the world could have saved that. Apart from conceding that one unstoppable goal, the Spaniard was absolutely flawless. He was quick, fearless and played the ball out from the back without any hesitation. He has been looking a lot more confident these days and he even managed to keep a clean sheet last week against Spurs. He is one of the players who has benefited a lot from Tuchel and hopefully he can keep this form going for the rest of the season.
Next. Chelsea and Thomas Tuchel have too many cooks in the kitchen. dark
What are some of the lessons you learnt in the win? Let us know in the comments or on Twitter!