Thomas Tuchel made the bold call, and Kepa Arrizabalaga made the big saves.
Brought on as a substitute with seconds remaining in extra time, Kepa kept out two spot kicks as Chelsea beat Villarreal 6-5 in a penalty shootout to win the UEFA Super Cup on Wednesday.
Tuchel, the Chelsea manager, has been informed by his team of statisticians that Kepa has a better record at saving penalties than first-choice goalkeeper Edouard Mendy, so the substitution was made in the 119th minute of a match that ended 1-1 after extra time.
Kepa had already saved a penalty from Aissa Mandi when he dived low to his right again and parried out Raul Albiol’s attempt in what proved to be the final kick of the shootout at Windsor Park in Northern Ireland.
As Chelsea’s players sprinted from the halfway line to celebrate with Kepa, one of the first to reach him was Mendy.
“It’s fantastic how Edu accepts it,” Tuchel said.
“ We needed to do what’s best for the team. ... There is proof that Kepa is better in this discipline.”
Another trophy
Less than 10 weeks after Chelsea’s 1-0 win over Manchester City in the Champions League final in Porto, Cesar Azpilicueta was again lifting a European trophy to the backdrop of fireworks and tickertape.
Among the players celebrating on the podium behind him was Hakim Ziyech, who had his right arm in a sling after a suspected dislocated shoulder in the 40th minute — 13 minutes after putting Chelsea into the lead by converting a cross from Kai Havertz.
That was cancelled out by Gerard Moreno in the 73rd for the Spain international’s record 83rd goal for Villarreal — breaking the record he shared with U.S.-born former Italy striker Giuseppe Rossi.
Moreno exchanged a one-two with Boulaye Dia before lifting his shot over Mendy and into the top corner.
The result: Chelsea 1 (Ziyech 27) drew with Villarreal 1 (Gerard Moreno 73) (after extra-time, Chelsea win 6-5 on penalties).
