Graham Potter was left really impressed by the performance of Chelsea’s Kepa Arrizabalaga in Saturday’s 2-1 win against Crystal Palace.
Chelsea secured three Premier League points away from home on the weekend’s visit to Selhurst Park.
The Blues had to come from behind due to Odsonne Edouard’s early opener for Palace. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang did equalise before half-time with a really well-taken strike into the bottom corner, though.
Eventually, Conor Gallagher came off the bench to score a thunderous winning goal in the 90th minute.
There was one controversial moment when Thiago Silva was involved in a handball incident, which Potter did admit may have been red card.
Potter impressed by Kepa
Chelsea boss Potter reserved some special praise for his goalkeeper after today’s display.
Kepa, 27, couldn’t do much about the Edouard strike that was fired into the very top corner of the net.
However, the Spanish shot-stopper actually popped up with some really strong saves to highlight where his game is at right now.
“I thought he (Kepa) did really well. He made a couple of big saves but also, his distribution in terms of his decision-making was really strong,” Potter said, as quoted by Football London.
“You need players to step up and perform and Kepa did that today. So I am really happy for him.”
Kepa’s spot to lose?
Kepa has started both games so far under Potter, but teammate and usual number one Edouard Mendy has been absent through injury.
In fairness, Kepa is putting in performances to suggest he could be ready take charge as the first-choice keeper again.
He must take massive confidence from Potter’s reaction in his post-match interview, so it’s just about performing consistently when he’s on the pitch.
If he can win back the gloves to become a key player at Chelsea, it would quite a remarkable story after the tough times he’s endured at Stamford Bridge.
There’s never been much doubt about his ball-playing qualities, which is why many felt he would be a good natural fit under Potter. It’s the consistency and avoiding individual errors that he needs to find to overtake Mendy.
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