Chelsea goalkeeper criticized for 'lack of class'
"That goal is an unacceptable mistake at this level," former striker Chris Sutton commented on the Daily Mail. "Kepa should have done much better when he had his hand on the ball but couldn't save. If it was Thibaut Courtois, he could have pushed the ball away."
Sutton was a Chelsea and England striker in the 90s. He talked about the situation where Marco Asensio put his heart from the edge of the penalty area to the bottom left corner in the 74th minute, when Kepa fell but could not block the ball. This goal helped Real lead Chelsea 2-0 after the first leg at the Bernabeu. "If the score was 1-0, Chelsea's job would have been much easier in the second leg," added Sutton.
Former midfielder Joe Cole also thinks that Courtois will not make the same mistake as Kepa in that situation. "A top goalkeeper won't concede that, that's why the team spends a lot of money on goalkeepers. Courtois will also have more influence on the defence, directing defenders to the right positions," Cole said. on BT Sport.
Another Chelsea player to blame was striker Joao Felix, when he missed his chance to face off early in the game. Receiving N'Golo Kante's slit, Felix escaped to the right corner, when pressured by midfielder Eder Militao. "A confident enough striker will shoot diagonally, to the far corner with the aim of scoring," Sutton added. "Over here, Felix is just trying to hit the target and get the ball right where Courtois is."
Chelsea could have lost more heavily by having to play with 10 men since the 59th minute, when defender Ben Chilwell received a red card directly from the field for dragging Rodrygo down. Earlier, Karim Benzema opened the scoring for the hosts in the 21st minute, with a back-kick after Kepa pushed Vinicius Junior's volley.
Kepa is the most expensive goalkeeper in history, when he joined Chelsea in the summer of 2018 for $ 89 million. The Spaniard started the first two seasons, but was only a substitute for Edouard Mendy in the next two seasons. Due to Mendy's decline, Kepa reclaimed his playing position this season, but did not impress.
