Chelsea lost the Carabao Cup final to Liverpool as Thomas Tuchel’s plan to replace Edouard Mendy with Kepa Arrizabalaga completely backfired.
Kepa Arrizabalaga is supposed to be the penalty shootout specialist for the Blues so with the 120 minutes coming to an end, Tuchel chose to take the in-form Edouard Mendy off and put the Spaniard on.
This plan completely crumbled to pieces as Kepa Arrizabalaga did not even save a single of the 11 Liverpool spot-kicks and to rub salt to the wounds, the keeper missed his shot, thereby helping Liverpool lift the title.
Many pundits and experts have since questioned Tuchel’s decision to replace Mendy but the German has chosen to firmly stand by his tactics and changes.
“We feel bad for him [Kepa], of course. It was a bit harsh that he was the guy to miss the one and only penalty but there is no blame,” he said, as quoted.
“I take the decisions when I take the decisions and I can’t re-judge them when I know the outcome. We don’t know what would’ve happened if we left Edou [Mendy] on the pitch.
Kepa vs Liverpool:
2 mins played
11 penalties conceded
1 penalty missed
0 League Cups pic.twitter.com/1IhTA10A06— The Anfield Talk (@TheAnfieldTalk) February 27, 2022
“No blame on Kepa. Blame on me as I’m the guy who takes the decisions. Sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn’t. This is life as a football coach.
“The players know and we did it before. It’s a nice subject now for you to make headlines but mistakes happen. I do mistakes, Edou did a big mistake and almost got punished. It makes easier if we have a big feeling but blame me as I take the decisions.”
Should Kepa Arrizabalaga have been brought on?
Edouard Mendy was superb on Sunday making as many as six saves and some of them were really top-class and purely based on form, the Senegalese should have remained on the pitch.
He made one high claim and five diving saves(all of them within the box) and had it not been for him then Liverpool would have killed off the tie in regulation time itself.
Such a risk. Last time it paid off, this time it was a total disaster. How it goes. I don't agree with it, but if Kepa was heroic again tonight we'd all be saying genius decision. pic.twitter.com/sJexNfGuMm
— Simon Phillips (@siphillipssport) February 27, 2022
To bring on someone like Kepa Arrizabalaga in place of Mendy might look like a really outlandish idea but this is something Chelsea had worked on for the whole week so obviously, Tuchel was going to go ahead with this plan. Despite what many people might say but plans for such high-intensity finals are laid out well in advance so unless there’s an unforced injury a manager like Tuchel won’t go for damage limitation.
Even with the game balanced at 0-0 in the final quarter, Tuchel chose to bring on Lukaku and Timo Werner in order to win the game rather than look for extra time and penalties. There’s every chance this plan could have backfired as well.
It’s bad luck that Kepa’s shot didn’t find the target but now that Chelsea have lost to Liverpool, this decision will be questioned for several more weeks.
Tuchel is sensibly putting up a brave face but this might have been Chelsea’s only chance to win a silverware this season.
