Kepa Arrizabalaga

[Jype 6,398]

On 7.10.2020 at 11:44 PM, NikkiCFC said:

In Chelsea his next game is going to be what? FA Cup in January?

Could be sooner rather than later. Some reports of Mendy getting injured on international duty...

 

[Jase 43,479]

Aaaaaand Kepa is back to the bench now that Spain are playing a competitive match...

[Vesper 28,348]

Taking Spain form back to Chelsea would be first step to redemption for Kepa

https://theathletic.com/2137188/2020/10/15/kepa-spain-chelsea-future/

Last week Luis Enrique offered some rare words of encouragement to the world’s most expensive and perhaps most criticised goalkeeper.

“Kepa is not in a nice situation, but it is not the end of the world,” the Spain coach said in a press conference ahead of a friendly against Portugal. “It’s the ideal moment for him to rise again, for us to see what Kepa is made of. What he is going through at Chelsea now is something that happens to all players throughout their careers.”

Kepa responded by keeping a clean sheet in Lisbon — his first of the new season and only his fifth in 16 appearances for club and country in 2020. But the match also highlighted the flaws of using clean sheets to judge goalkeeper performance; Cristiano Ronaldo and Renato Sanches both crashed shots off the underside of the bar with Kepa beaten and Joao Felix missed a gilt-edged chance virtually on the goal line in injury time. Had things fallen less favourably, he could have conceded three times without having done anything differently.

More encouraging for Chelsea were several flashes beyond those headline moments. Despite producing the chances to win fairly comfortably, Portugal only mustered one shot on target. It was a big moment though; Francisco Trincao slipping substitute Felix clean through on goal in the 75th minute.

Kepa closes the distance without committing himself, makes his body as big as possible and eventually gets down low to his right to smother the Atletico Madrid forward’s slightly scuffed shot…

Kepa also showed notable conviction in an aspect of his game frequently highlighted as a weakness throughout his Chelsea career: commanding his penalty area in the face of high balls delivered into the box. Spain opted to defend set pieces with a high line — a system that gives the goalkeeper space to roam but requires him to be assertive in coming to claim the ball…

On this occasion, Kepa rushes out confidently to catch Ruben Neves’ inswinging cross between two Portugal attackers:

A few minutes later, Portugal tried to expose Spain’s high defensive line again, with Joao Cancelo advancing from the right-back spot and chipping a precise pass in behind for Diogo Jota to chase…

The pass is slightly overhit, but Kepa is quickly out to beat Jota to the ball and snuff out the danger…

If these seem like relatively routine interventions for a top-level goalkeeper, that’s because they are. But within the context of Kepa’s very public crisis of confidence during a horrendously bad 2019-20 season, they are welcome signs of progress towards the unflashy competence he displayed for much of his first season at Chelsea under Maurizio Sarri. After the game he credited Luis Enrique for the improvement in his mindset.

“I’ve felt confidence, at ease (with the national side),” he said. “I think it was a good game and I’m happy with the confidence of the coach. When I’m needed to help on the pitch, I try to do the best I possibly can.”

Whether that growth in confidence survived seeing David de Gea picked to start Spain’s subsequent Nations League matches against Switzerland and Ukraine remains to be seen. Chelsea will soon find out; Edouard Mendy’s untimely thigh injury, while not expected to sideline him for more than a couple of weeks, looks to have opened the door for Kepa to reverse his club fortunes sooner than anyone would have anticipated.

Frank Lampard’s lack of faith in Kepa was exposed by his selection decisions for Chelsea’s most important matches of 2019-20, picking Willy Caballero over the Spaniard to face Wolves on the final day of the Premier League’s top four race, and against Arsenal in the FA Cup final at Wembley. It would be a surprise to see him do so again with Mendy out, however, given that the club remain committed to trying to recover Kepa’s confidence and value for the time being. He, not Caballero, was the goalkeeper on the bench in the last two games.

It is essentially a marriage of necessity. Kepa’s price tag, wages and current underperformance would make it impossible for Marina Granovskaia to get anything like acceptable resale value in a normal transfer market, let alone one utterly distorted by the COVID-19 pandemic. In any case, few European clubs of stature are even looking for a starting goalkeeper right now; sources have told The Athletic that the Spaniard’s representatives searched long and hard for loan suitors in the final days of the transfer window, but none emerged.

Kepa will likely be at Chelsea for the foreseeable future, so it is in the best interests of all parties for him to embrace the challenge of competing with Mendy and rediscovering his best form. De Gea took the opportunity to consult former Spain youth team coach Miguel Angel Espana during the shortened offseason to address certain specific technical flaws in his game. Kepa will need to be similarly open to exploring every possible avenue towards self-improvement in the weeks and months ahead.

De Gea is once again Spain’s No 1 goalkeeper, reinstated by Luis Enrique following his return to the national team, but Kepa’s senior international outings have showcased plenty of what he can offer in peak form. Here he is in a Euro 2020 qualifier against Romania in November 2019, faced with a shooting chance for George Puscas in the penalty area…

Puscas’ shot is high and hard, but Kepa leaps to his right to tip it wide. Spain have no more serious defensive scares and go on to win the game 5-0.

That was the second time in three months that Kepa had denied Puscas a famous goal. In September 2019 in Bucharest, with Spain leading 2-1 but down to 10 men, the Chelsea goalkeeper stuck out a vital left leg to block the striker’s powerful downward header after he rose highest to meet a dangerous cross from the right flank in the second minute of injury time.

The ability to make saves in key moments, coupled with a more consistent general projection of calm to his defenders, are the two boxes Kepa must tick to have any chance of reviving his Chelsea career. He is at least saying all the right things on this front, even if he couldn’t realistically be expected to say anything else.

“I’m feeling good, strong and confident,” he insisted heading into the October international break. “Perhaps it’s not the situation I dreamed of or hoped for, but we all have to go through moments like this. I’m confident I can turn things around and am willing to work hard to do that.”

It will take a lot to change Lampard’s mind, particularly if Mendy can build upon two relatively solid showings prior to the international break. He, unlike Kepa, also speaks French, revealed by Cesar Azpilicueta this week to be the new unofficial language of Chelsea’s defence. More generally speaking, it’s hard to think of a precedent for Kepa re-establishing himself at Stamford Bridge after such a spectacular confidence crisis at any other elite European club.

Mendy’s injury may have opened the door slightly, though, and Kepa bringing his Spain confidence onto the pitch with Chelsea would be a first step in the right direction.

[communicate 2,703]

Made a couple good saves but kepa is kepa

[The Skipper 20,593]

Don't play him again this season. 

[The Skipper 20,593]

7 minutes ago, communicate said:

Made a couple good saves but kepa is kepa

Standard saves. What you expect from a pro goalkeeper. 

[Magic Lamps 11,635]

should be his last straw there. how he tackled air for the 2nd goal TWICE was cringe. but being so super passive and reactivefor the 2 other goals were he again makes it look like he is not at fault by reacting late is what really makes him the shit goalie he is

[Jase 43,479]

On 10/16/2020 at 1:43 AM, Vesper said:

Taking Spain form back to Chelsea would be first step to redemption for Kepa

https://theathletic.com/2137188/2020/10/15/kepa-spain-chelsea-future/

Last week Luis Enrique offered some rare words of encouragement to the world’s most expensive and perhaps most criticised goalkeeper.

“Kepa is not in a nice situation, but it is not the end of the world,” the Spain coach said in a press conference ahead of a friendly against Portugal. “It’s the ideal moment for him to rise again, for us to see what Kepa is made of. What he is going through at Chelsea now is something that happens to all players throughout their careers.”

Kepa responded by keeping a clean sheet in Lisbon — his first of the new season and only his fifth in 16 appearances for club and country in 2020. But the match also highlighted the flaws of using clean sheets to judge goalkeeper performance; Cristiano Ronaldo and Renato Sanches both crashed shots off the underside of the bar with Kepa beaten and Joao Felix missed a gilt-edged chance virtually on the goal line in injury time. Had things fallen less favourably, he could have conceded three times without having done anything differently.

More encouraging for Chelsea were several flashes beyond those headline moments. Despite producing the chances to win fairly comfortably, Portugal only mustered one shot on target. It was a big moment though; Francisco Trincao slipping substitute Felix clean through on goal in the 75th minute.

Kepa closes the distance without committing himself, makes his body as big as possible and eventually gets down low to his right to smother the Atletico Madrid forward’s slightly scuffed shot…

Kepa also showed notable conviction in an aspect of his game frequently highlighted as a weakness throughout his Chelsea career: commanding his penalty area in the face of high balls delivered into the box. Spain opted to defend set pieces with a high line — a system that gives the goalkeeper space to roam but requires him to be assertive in coming to claim the ball…

On this occasion, Kepa rushes out confidently to catch Ruben Neves’ inswinging cross between two Portugal attackers:

A few minutes later, Portugal tried to expose Spain’s high defensive line again, with Joao Cancelo advancing from the right-back spot and chipping a precise pass in behind for Diogo Jota to chase…

The pass is slightly overhit, but Kepa is quickly out to beat Jota to the ball and snuff out the danger…

If these seem like relatively routine interventions for a top-level goalkeeper, that’s because they are. But within the context of Kepa’s very public crisis of confidence during a horrendously bad 2019-20 season, they are welcome signs of progress towards the unflashy competence he displayed for much of his first season at Chelsea under Maurizio Sarri. After the game he credited Luis Enrique for the improvement in his mindset.

“I’ve felt confidence, at ease (with the national side),” he said. “I think it was a good game and I’m happy with the confidence of the coach. When I’m needed to help on the pitch, I try to do the best I possibly can.”

Whether that growth in confidence survived seeing David de Gea picked to start Spain’s subsequent Nations League matches against Switzerland and Ukraine remains to be seen. Chelsea will soon find out; Edouard Mendy’s untimely thigh injury, while not expected to sideline him for more than a couple of weeks, looks to have opened the door for Kepa to reverse his club fortunes sooner than anyone would have anticipated.

Frank Lampard’s lack of faith in Kepa was exposed by his selection decisions for Chelsea’s most important matches of 2019-20, picking Willy Caballero over the Spaniard to face Wolves on the final day of the Premier League’s top four race, and against Arsenal in the FA Cup final at Wembley. It would be a surprise to see him do so again with Mendy out, however, given that the club remain committed to trying to recover Kepa’s confidence and value for the time being. He, not Caballero, was the goalkeeper on the bench in the last two games.

It is essentially a marriage of necessity. Kepa’s price tag, wages and current underperformance would make it impossible for Marina Granovskaia to get anything like acceptable resale value in a normal transfer market, let alone one utterly distorted by the COVID-19 pandemic. In any case, few European clubs of stature are even looking for a starting goalkeeper right now; sources have told The Athletic that the Spaniard’s representatives searched long and hard for loan suitors in the final days of the transfer window, but none emerged.

Kepa will likely be at Chelsea for the foreseeable future, so it is in the best interests of all parties for him to embrace the challenge of competing with Mendy and rediscovering his best form. De Gea took the opportunity to consult former Spain youth team coach Miguel Angel Espana during the shortened offseason to address certain specific technical flaws in his game. Kepa will need to be similarly open to exploring every possible avenue towards self-improvement in the weeks and months ahead.

De Gea is once again Spain’s No 1 goalkeeper, reinstated by Luis Enrique following his return to the national team, but Kepa’s senior international outings have showcased plenty of what he can offer in peak form. Here he is in a Euro 2020 qualifier against Romania in November 2019, faced with a shooting chance for George Puscas in the penalty area…

Puscas’ shot is high and hard, but Kepa leaps to his right to tip it wide. Spain have no more serious defensive scares and go on to win the game 5-0.

That was the second time in three months that Kepa had denied Puscas a famous goal. In September 2019 in Bucharest, with Spain leading 2-1 but down to 10 men, the Chelsea goalkeeper stuck out a vital left leg to block the striker’s powerful downward header after he rose highest to meet a dangerous cross from the right flank in the second minute of injury time.

The ability to make saves in key moments, coupled with a more consistent general projection of calm to his defenders, are the two boxes Kepa must tick to have any chance of reviving his Chelsea career. He is at least saying all the right things on this front, even if he couldn’t realistically be expected to say anything else.

“I’m feeling good, strong and confident,” he insisted heading into the October international break. “Perhaps it’s not the situation I dreamed of or hoped for, but we all have to go through moments like this. I’m confident I can turn things around and am willing to work hard to do that.”

It will take a lot to change Lampard’s mind, particularly if Mendy can build upon two relatively solid showings prior to the international break. He, unlike Kepa, also speaks French, revealed by Cesar Azpilicueta this week to be the new unofficial language of Chelsea’s defence. More generally speaking, it’s hard to think of a precedent for Kepa re-establishing himself at Stamford Bridge after such a spectacular confidence crisis at any other elite European club.

Mendy’s injury may have opened the door slightly, though, and Kepa bringing his Spain confidence onto the pitch with Chelsea would be a first step in the right direction.

That article has not aged well......

[Alabama 1,992]

Just keep this guy out of the squad....

That's your first job Frank...

[communicate 2,703]

3 minutes ago, The Skipper said:

Standard saves. What you expect from a pro goalkeeper. 

True but for kepa, any shot scare me. 

[Special Juan 27,387]

The defence don't trust him and he doesn't trust himself, this is a major part of the problem.

[Magic Lamps 11,635]

The problem is Willy is not any better. We are fucked every time Mendy is out. 

[Milan 17,848]

AVB dealt with some players without giving any shit. Lampard was part of the squad and if there was one thing he should have taken note of from AVB, it was this freezing out players. Oh, he has been doing it, I forgot. With Giroud or Tomori  

[Fernando 6,422]

The gift that keeps on giving. 

After torres worst buy. 

In fact most of our worst buys are players from Spain. 

[The Skipper 20,593]

16 minutes ago, Magic Lamps said:

The problem is Willy is not any better. We are fucked every time Mendy is out. 

Genuinely feel like Wily at least gives the defence more confidence and is therefore automatically a better option. 

[killer1257 3,282]

AVB dealt with some players without giving any shit. Lampard was part of the squad and if there was one thing he should have taken note of from AVB, it was this freezing out players. Oh, he has been doing it, I forgot. With Giroud or Tomori [emoji3][emoji3] 

AVB should have frozen out Torres too, but he chose Drogba lol

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[chelsea_4_eva 1,157]

For me, it has come to the point of seeing him make a mistake and not feel anything.

[Johnnyeye 7,432]

fraud of a GK, you just can't defend him anymore.