Kepa receives Thomas Tuchel backing as Chelsea boss reveals why he remains ‘happy’
Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel has sided with Kepa Arrizabalaga after the goalkeeper’s penalty miss in the Carabao Cup final defeat to Liverpool.
Arrizabalaga came off the bench in extra time to replace Edouard Mendy, ready for the penalty shoot-out. But he failed to save any spot-kicks from Liverpool and missed his own, giving Jurgen Klopp’s side the trophy.
The Spaniard had already been attracting transfer interest from elsewhere, and now those links are likely to intensify.
Chelsea are supposedly willing to cut their losses and sell the 27-year-old this summer, should an offer come in. They will have to take a big loss on the player they signed from Athletic Bilbao for £71million in August 2018.
At Tuesday’s press conference, Tuchel explained why he could not blame Arrizabalaga for the loss. He also pointed to the shot-stopper’s impact on Chelsea even reaching the final.
“He brought us to Wembley. We already needed two penalty shoot-outs and he saved the decisive penalties for us,” Tuchel said (via the Daily Mail).
“So he was hugely involved and responsible that we had this final. He won the penalty shoot-out in the Super Cup. He’s responsible that we have a match tomorrow [Wednesday] because he saved the penalty in extra time against Plymouth.
Kepa Arrizabalaga not to blame – Tuchel
“He did his job in a fantastic matter but the penalties were well taken and it was not on our side the momentum in the shoot-out.
“To blame a goalkeeper for missing would be like if you blame a player from outfield for not saving a penalty. It’s simply not his job.”
The German manager also detailed why he remains happy, despite Chelsea’s bitter disappointment in the capital.
“I will never stop loving this game that we played, I will keep it as a memory,” he added. “If we don’t win a title I cannot jump off a building.
“As long as we play like this with full commitment and quality in games like this, I am a happy coach. Can I guarantee titles? No. I never did.”
Tuchel provides injury update
Chelsea’s next match is against Luton Town in the FA Cup fifth round on Wednesday evening.
Ahead of the tie, Tuchel gave the following injury admission: “Now we have a lot of players in physical overload and we have some injuries from the match.
“It’s actually too many to comment because it would be a long list, so we need to see.
“We had training today, the physios, the doctors are still working with the players to find out.
“And we can take the last decision tomorrow morning when we have the departure to Luton.”
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