Chelsea was involved in a thrilling 2-2 draw vs Valencia in the Champions League on Wednesday and Blues keeper Kepa Arrizabalaga has come under heavy fire ever since.
The keeper made a number of stray passes during the match but it looked like he had redeemed himself when he saved a crucial penalty during the second half of the match.
After the save, it looked like Valencia wouldn’t be able to make a comeback into the match and Chelsea would go back to London with all three points.
But unfortunately, that wasn’t to be as the Spanish side scored their second goal of the night through a Daniel Wass long ranger which seemed to have caught Kepa Arrizabalaga.
And since then, the Spanish keeper has come under heavy fire from fans and pundits alike claiming the goalkeeper is one of the weakest links in the current Chelsea squad.
The Chelsea manager though has come out in support of Kepa Arrizabalaga claiming the goal from Wass was certainly a fluke.
‘It was certainly a fluke,’ Lampard said after the game[as quoted by The Metro].
‘He didn’t mean to score and that makes it more difficult for the goalkeeper because they don’t expect to go off the far top corner.
‘The cross came in too high for him. I know there might be the feeling he pulled his hands away, I’m not sure he would have got there anyway.
2019/2020
Thibaut Courtois
16 Games
15 Goals Allowed
7 Cleansheets
0.93 goals allowed per gameKepa Arrizabalaga
19 Games
29 Goals Allowed
4 Cleansheets
1.52 goals allowed per game@ a Chelsea fan 😉 pic.twitter.com/AgpiCLufgv
— RMadridHome (@RMadridHome_) November 27, 2019
‘I will have to look at it again and Kepa will be the best one because he’s very honest with himself and if he feels he could have got it then I’m sure he would say that.
‘But we can’t look away from the penalty save. It wasn’t just a standard penalty save, it was a fantastic one and that’s what top keepers do to save you points.’
Apart from the penalty save, Kepa Arrizabalaga looked very shaky during the Valencia vs Chelsea game and this isn’t the first time that the keeper has created doubts about his performance on the pitch.
Right now the Blues are playing with two inexperienced defenders which makes it all the more important that the keeper is rock solid instead of faltering constantly.
