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Tag: Mendy

  • Tuchel confirms Chelsea first-choice goalkeeper

    Tuchel confirms Chelsea first-choice goalkeeper

    Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel insists Edouard Mendy remains the club’s number one goalkeeper.

    Tuchel handed Kepa Arrizabalaga his second consecutive start against Newcastle United on Monday, stating that he wanted the Spaniard to find some ‘rhythm’.

    The 26-year-old delivered another clean sheet in the 2-0 victory over Toon, but that hasn’t changed Tuchel’s position on his number one shot-stopper.

    Asked if he had changed his stance on the position, Tuchel added: “No, Edouard is the number one and that is clear, it stays like this, I am very happy Kepa continued with a second clean sheet and it was the right moment to let him feel the rhythm and build his confidence.

    “We hoped for the very best performance and Edu will be in from now on because he is the number one.”

  • Chelsea keeper Edouard Mendy world class – Neuer

    Chelsea keeper Edouard Mendy world class – Neuer

    Bayern Munich great Manuel Neuer has declared Chelsea’s new No1 Edouard Mendy as “world class”.

    Mendy has settled in remarkably well at Stamford Bridge, leaving the Bayern Munich star impressed.

    He told L’Equipe: “There are a lot of world-class goalkeepers right now. For example, Edouard Mendy, who moved from Rennes to Chelsea.

    “He is a player that we only saw in Ligue 1, who joined a big club and has immediately been successful.

    “It’s great to see that. Overall, I’m happy to see so many good goalkeepers because we’re a brotherhood.”

  • Kepa reaction ‘absolutely magnificent’ after Mendy signing – Cech

    Kepa reaction ‘absolutely magnificent’ after Mendy signing – Cech

    Chelsea legend Petr Cech believes the response of goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga to the signing of Edouard Mendy has been fantastic.

    Mendy has come in from Rennes, taken the no.1 shirt, and been in fine form.

    But Kepa has kept his head down and worked hard to show he can still be a regular starter for the Blues.

    Cech, who trains with the team’s keepers, is very impressed.

    “I was asked together with the goalkeeping department and the scouting department to prepare documents for the manager and give my advice on who would be my choice,” Cech told The Times.

    “Edouard was not the only one on the list, but we had him on top because of his qualities and the knowledge we had about him. The manager and the club decided to go with our advice, so that’s how he ended up here.

    “He has brought exactly what we wanted him to, which is his presence, his calmness and the way he does things on the pitch with precision and clear decision-making.

    “He’s a very positive person and he transmits that in the way he plays. ‘His main strength is aerial duels. He’s very strong in coming for crosses and has big presence in the box.

    “He’s tall, 6ft 5in, so he uses his frame for coming out and blocking shots. And his distribution is really good. Overall he’s a complete goalkeeper.”

  • Petr Cech reveals how Chelsea signed Mendy

    Petr Cech reveals how Chelsea signed Mendy

    Chelsea football chief Petr Cech has revealed how they came to the decision to sign Edouard Mendy from Rennes this summer.

    Cech, registered as a player with Chelsea this season, joined the Blues from Rennes himself in 2004, and disclosed that he played a part in the signing of Mendy.

    Cech said: “I gave my input [on Mendy’s signing], because we wanted to add to our goalkeeping group a slightly different type of keeper.

    “We have Kepa and Willy Caballero, who every time we needed him was ready to step in and we decided with Kepa going through a difficult moment where things were not happening for him on the pitch, we decided to add to our goalkeeping group and we agreed to bring in Edouard. So far, he’s been doing great.

    “In my first eight games [at Chelsea], we had seven clean sheets. If he [Mendy] gets that and makes it better, I will be happy, because the team will do well and we will be winning, and this is ultimately what we want.’

    Cech revealed that Christophe Lollichon, the head of Chelsea’s goalkeeping department, advised him to watch Mendy.

    “I have to give credit to Christophe Lollichon who spoke to me about him three-and-a-half years ago when Edouard started playing for Reims. The one thing which is great about his story is obviously his year where, because of the fault of his agent, he was without a club.

    “While I was playing at Arsenal, he said, ‘Watch this goalkeeper, he has a very interesting story’. So I started following him.

    “Obviously you watch all the other goalkeepers as well. I have watched 30, 40 different goalkeepers over the past year and a half, but I kept following Edouard and you see his evolution and progression every year, it got me the idea when we talked about what we want from a goalkeeper, what we would like to add to our goalkeeping group, his name came to my mind.

    “The manager has a big input. The club and the scouting has his input and we all agreed he’s the goalkeeper we should get over.”

  • Chelsea match 10-year clean sheet record

    Chelsea match 10-year clean sheet record

    Chelsea’s defensive bounce back continued on Wednesday as the Blues kept yet another clean sheet in their Champions League victory over Rennes.

    The Blues cruised to a 3-0 win over the Ligue 1 side, taking them top of the group with seven points from their first three group stage matches.

    Once again, Chelsea’s backline held firm with the Blues have bouncing back from early-season criticisms of the team’s defensive shape.

    The Blues conceded 11 goals from their first five Premier League matches, with Frank Lampard’s side being questioned for their lapses in defence, but with Wednesday’s win Chelsea have now kept five consecutive clean sheets in all competitions, erasing virtually all of those defensive doubts.

    Chelsea have now kept five successive clean sheets in all competitions for the first time since 2010. That run, from September to October, came under Carlo Ancelotti in a season that saw the club finish second in the Premier League.

    Having also not allowed a goal in consecutive Champions League matches, the Blues have now kept three straight clean sheets in the continental competition for the first time since 2009-10.

    Chelsea’s defensive improvements coincide with the arrival of Edouard Mendy, who has allowed just one goal in seven games since joining the club from Rennes.

    Goal

  • Lampard showers praise on his first choice goalkeeper

    Lampard showers praise on his first choice goalkeeper

    Frank Lampard believes there is “a lot more to come” from Edouard Mendy owing to the Senegal international’s bright start to life at Chelsea.

    The 28-year-old joined the Stamford Bridge giants from Rennes as back-up for error-prone Kepa Arrizabalaga for a fee worth £22 million.

    With five clean sheets garnered in six appearances so far, Mendy has become the first Blue to record shutouts in his opening three Premier League matches since Petr Cech.

    As the goalkeeper prepares to face his former team in the Champions League on Wednesday, the Blues boss is in awe of the African’s performances so far, while suggesting his potentials are yet to be unlocked.

    “I am sure he will improve as it is really early days for him at the club he is settling in still to a degree,” he told media per Chelsea website.

    “I am very confident in him and he has shown great qualities so far and I think there is a lot more to come, with his attitude which is key.

    “I have seen how he wants to work, how he wants to be and the humility in him – I think he can go much further in many departments.

    “What I have seen in a short period of time with Edouard is a player that has a massive work ethic to train and push himself every day.

    “It seems his personality is pretty laid back with a tough edge when it comes to work.”

    “He has shown his qualities that we brought him into the club for,” he continued.

    “All the feedback was he had a great personality, a strong personality in the dressing room, and everything I heard, all those positives, came true. It seems his personality is pretty laid-back with a tough edge when it comes to work.

    “He is very low maintenance, he works hard, he wants to work more, and he is eager to engage with his team-mates and myself.

    “He has a smile on his face so it’s a real positive when you have a player that comes in and hits the ground running on the pitch and in the dressing room.”

    After the showdown versus Rennes, big games are coming thick and fast, and he is expected to get plenty of opportunities to impress.

     

  • Mendy is my number one goalkeeper – Lampard

    Mendy is my number one goalkeeper – Lampard

    Chelsea manager Frank Lampard admits new signing Edouard Mendy is the number one keeper at the club.

    Mendy was involved for the team against Sevilla in the UEFA Champions League group stages.

    The Blues played out a 0-0 draw with the Spanish side.

    Mendy got a clean sheet, and Lampard believes he will go from strength to strength as he gets to know his new teammates.

    “I think the way he has played in the three games since being here, he has played very well. Made a good save today, two clean sheets,” Lampard told reporters when asked if Mendy was now his first choice in goal.

    “So at the minute, yes. I said when he came in it was good for competition. We knew his qualities and he is showing them already.

    “So as it stands, yes it is. But that always remains something that is up for grabs, so that is why you have competition at clubs. The way he is playing I am very happy.”

  • Kepa gets second chance as Mendy suffers thigh injury

    Kepa gets second chance as Mendy suffers thigh injury

    Chelsea FC goalkeeper Edouard Mendy, sustained a right thigh injury during a training session with Senegal this week, the Premier League club said on Friday.

    Mendy, who joined Chelsea for a reported 22 million pounds ($28.47 million) from French club Stade Rennes in September, has returned to London and will undergo further tests.

    Senegal are due to play Morocco later on Friday.

    “The Senegalese Football Federation has announced the withdrawal from their squad of Edouard Mendy due to injury,” Chelsea said in a statement here on their website.

    “The goalkeeper… had a medical examination in a hospital in Rabat… Mendy has since returned to Chelsea where he will undergo further examinations.”

    The 28-year-old, brought in to boost Chelsea’s goalkeeping options with Spain’s Kepa Arrizabalaga suffering a dip in form since last season.

    Mendy kept a clean sheet in his first league start as Frank Lampard’s side beat Crystal Palace 4-0 last Saturday.

    Chelsea next host Southampton on Oct. 17 when the league resumes following the international break.

  • EPL: Lampard defends Kepa despite Mendy arrival

    EPL: Lampard defends Kepa despite Mendy arrival

    Chelsea boss Frank Lampard has defended underfire Kepa Arrizabalaga today.

    Arrizabalaga, 25, has drawn widespread criticism in recent weeks after making costly mistakes in the Blues’ opening two Premier League fixtures against Brighton and Liverpool.

    As a result, Lampard dropped him to the bench in Saturdays’ 3-3 draw away at West Brom, instead opting for back-up shot-stopper Willy Caballero in between the sticks.

    And Edouard Mendy’s £22million arrival from Rennes last week has plunged Arrizabalaga’s future at Stamford Bridge into doubt.

    When asked if he has played his last game for Chelsea, Lampard leapt to the Spaniard’s defence and bemoaned the “unfair” criticism he has been subjected to.

    “I certainly won’t go to that point of playing his last game,” the Blues manager said ahead of their trip to Tottenham in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday.

    “It’s been a difficult time for Kepa, that’s been well documented. I know it and he knows it. But we shouldn’t jump to that conclusion.

    “What I’ve felt strongly about over the last week is that he’s a young man, and some of the spotlight on him has become slightly unfair.

    “I have to protect him because I know he’s a good guy who always tries to do his best.”

    Mendy, meanwhile, could make his debut tomorrow night.

    Lampard added: “Mendy has settled in very well and he’s been made to feel welcome, as we do with any new player coming in.

    “It’s all very positive and he’s a good goalkeeper, he comes in and he will add that strong competition that we require in each position.”

  • Being Chelsea’s first African goalkeeper great responsibility – Mendy

    Being Chelsea’s first African goalkeeper great responsibility – Mendy

    New Chelsea signing Edouard Mendy admits he has a responsibility to succeed as the club’s first ever African goalkeeper.

    Senegal international Mendy joined Chelsea last week from Rennes.

    He declared: “The brightest African talents have played for this club: Drogba, Essien, Eto’o, Mikel.

    “When you see this, you want to follow in their footsteps. As for the goalkeepers, I am the first, and I am very proud of this, this is a great responsibility.”

    As for his match fitness, Mendy added: “Although I haven’t played for a while, I trained with Rennes as usual. We recently played a match behind closed doors and I took part. I feel great.”