Whisper it, but are errors starting to creep into Edouard Mendy’s game?
It’s a situation Chelsea supporters will dread, and for good reason. The Blues were besieged with several challenges with Kepa Arrizabalaga last term but the acquisition from Rennes looked to have spread calm across a backline that had lost every shred of assurance in the Spain international.
The 28-year-old Senegal keeper gave a prelude to his impressive shot-stopping on his League Cup debut at Tottenham Hotspur, before proving with performances vs Sevilla and, especially, Manchester United away that he could be relied upon between the sticks.
After over a year in charge, Mendy’s presence between the sticks for Chelsea suggests Lampard’s side would concede fewer head-scratching goals henceforth…and that lays a solid building block for the west London club
Indeed, the presence of Mendy in goal and Thiago Silva in central defence had given Frank Lampard a foundation to finally build upon, but both were jointly culpable for the 1-0 defeat by Everton on Saturday night, a result that ended Chelsea’s 14-game unbeaten (17 if you include that Carabao Cup game at Spurs) run.
However, while observers have tried to paint the Brazil centre-back as equally blameworthy in the concession of the penalty, a closer inspection clearly puts the fault at Mendy’s door.
Admittedly, the South American was beaten in the preceding aerial duel by Dominic Calvert-Lewin from Jordan Pickford’s long ball upfield; still, he had the situation largely under control and looked to be easing the England forward away from goal.
Blues left-back Ben Chilwell was also close to his international teammate, meaning Mendy’s error of judgement could have arguably been avoided.
The mistake at Goodison Park followed the West African’s early error against Leeds United in the previous gameweek, an encounter the five-time Premier League champions roared back to win 3-1. Continue reading