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Chelsea goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga has been hailed as a mind-reader following his late penalty save against Plymouth in the FA Cup on Saturday.
The Blues were leading 2-1 in extra-time against the League One outfit when Malang Sarr clumsily brought down Ryan Hardie in the box in the 116th minute.
However, Kepa saved Hardie’s spot-kick down low to his left to ensure that a nervy afternoon at Stamford Bridge ended in Chelsea progressing to the fifth round.
Kepa Arrizabalaga saved Ryan Hardie’s penalty in Chelsea’s win over Plymouth on Saturday
The Spanish goalkeeper dived down low to his left to keep out Hardie’s tame effort late on
After the game, Chelsea assistant coach Arno Michels was full of praise for the Spanish shot-stopper.
‘It’s not only about the penalty save but it’s also about the performance, it was a very good performance,’ he said. ‘In the last matches, I’ve felt him very reliable in his game.
‘His strength is to save penalties, he’s shown it a few times now: in the Carabao Cup twice, against Villarreal, and even in training, it’s hard to beat him.
Kepa has been Chelsea’s number two since Edouard Mendy’s arrival in September 2020
‘In penalty shoot-outs, he has the ability to read the mind of what the player is going to do.
‘We are very happy with Kepa and he deserves this trust because he is a fantastic guy.
‘To work with him for one year, it is hard for him because Edou (Mendy) is playing very good, but Kepa is constantly doing very good work in training, reliable work.
‘He is friendly and an amazing guy. So I am very happy for him he could save us from a penalty shoot-out.’
Assistant coach Arno Michels was full of praise for Kepa after the game at Stamford Bridge
Kepa’s Chelsea career has not been plain-sailing since he became the world’s most expensive goalkeeper by moving to Stamford Bridge for £71.6million from Athletic Bilbao in 2018.
Edouard Mendy’s arrival in September 2020 has meant that the Spaniard has had to settle for being number two and mostly only appeared in cup competitions.
He has made just four Premier League appearance this season and three of those have come in the last month as Mendy has been at the Africa Cup of Nations.
Kepa also saved two penalties in the UEFA Super Cup shootout against Villarreal last summer
However, Kepa has become known at Stamford Bridge for his track record of saving efforts from 12 yards.
Back in September, he broke the record for the most penalty stops by a Chelsea goalkeeper in shootouts (seven) when he saved Marvelous Nakamba’s spot-kick in the League Cup against Aston Villa.
That followed shootout stops in his debut season against Tottenham, Manchester City and Eintracht Frankfurt, as well as two in last year’s UEFA Super Cup against Villarreal – when he had come on as a 119th-minute substitute for Mendy.