Yahoo Finance Chelsea’s fringe players give Thomas Tuchel nothing but concern despite Kepa’s penalty shoot-out heroics
Chelsea crept into the Carabao Cup quarter-finals after beating Southampton on penalties on a night when few of Thomas Tuchel’s fringe players suggested they deserve more meaningful minutes in the side.
Neither Ross Barkley, making his first start of the season, nor Hakim Ziyech made an impact on the game before being hooked with 25 minutes remaining, although Ziyech did create the opening goal when his corner was headed home by Kai Havertz on the stroke of half-time.
Barkley looked rusty and short of fitness, while Ziyech’s inconsistent display seemed to frustrate Tuchel, who frequently gestured at the Moroccan to take up different positions during a fast-paced and often end-to-end contest, which finished 1-1 after 90 minutes.
Callum Hudson-Odoi and Saul Niguez, who was making only his fourth Chelsea appearance, showed more flashes of quality, although both are likely to remain on the fringes of the first-team when Premier League and Champions League football resumes over the weekend and next week.
Hudson-Odoi could take confidence from being among the scorers from the spot, with Reece James scoring the winning penalty, just as he did in the last round against Aston Villa.
Young centre-half Malang Sarr also had a difficult night and lost Kyle Walker-Peters for Southampton’s equaliser through Che Adams immediately after the restart.
A quarter-final in December will offer Tuchel’s fringe players another chance to impress ahead of the hectic festive schedule but on this evidence the likes of Barkley, Ziyech and Saul are unlikely to feature against Newcastle at the weekend.
Kepa makes his mark
Chelsea have more reason than most clubs to keep their back-up goalkeeper happy and involved, with No.1 Edouard Mendy set to depart for the African Cup of Nations in January, potentially ruling the Senegalese out for up to eight matches.
The world’s most expensive goalkeeper will deputise in the New Year and Kepa Arrizabalaga showed his best and worst sides in a memorable display against Saints.
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The Spaniard was at fault for the visitors’ equaliser when he allowed Walker-Peters’ shot to ricochet off his leg and into the path of Adams, who could not miss from a yard out. Still, he made amends with a string of fine saves in an action-packed second half, including two parries in stoppage-time from Lyanco Vojnovic and Mohammed Salisu headers.
For the third time this season, he was the hero on penalties, saving from Theo Walcott and psyching out Will Smallbone, who blazed over the bar after Kepa appeared to have words with the substitute.
It followed similar exploits against Villa in the third-round, when Chelsea also won 4-3 here on penalties after a 1-1 draw, and in the Super Cup, when he came off the bench with a few minutes remaining and saved two Villarreal efforts in the shootout.
Havertz looking sharp
Havertz missed out on a goal in the 7-0 demolition of Norwich at the weekend despite deputising for Romelu Lukaku and Timo Werner through the middle, but the German delivered here with a clinical header.
Havertz had already twice gone close and demonstrated his skillset with fierce efforts – one with his right foot, the other with his left – before he rose above two Saints players and teammate Sarr to nod home Ziyech’s corner.
It was the German’s second goal in three matches and came as part of a lively performance, in which he also went close in the second half.
His confidence appears to be returning and at just the right time for Chelsea, with Lukaku and Werner out for an unknown period.
Havertz still looks short of his best though, evidenced when he fluffed a one-on-one in the second half, but nonetheless this was an encouraging display.
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