Kepa Arrizabalaga 's latest mistake all but sealed his demotion to Chelsea's number two by next weekend, whether Edouard Mendy arrives or not.
Chelsea are set to complete a £22million deal for the Rennes goalkeeper this week, but be it Mendy or Willy Caballero - who will start against Barnsley on Wednesday - who takes the No1 spot, Kepa's time is up.
His manager, Frank Lampard, says the Spaniard needs support after two mistakes in Chelsea's opening two games of the Premier League season attracted more scrutiny and condemnation of his performances.
The 25-year-old was dispossessed by Sadio Mane before the Liverpool forward turned in his second as Jurgen Klopp’s side ran out 2-0 winners at Stamford Bridge on Sunday, but it was not the only costly mistake of the game. Things were going to plan in the first half, up to the point of Andreas Christensen's reckless challenge on Mane resulting in him seeing red following a VAR monitor review by referee Paul Tierney. But again, that Christensen made the challenge, throwing his arms around Mane and bundling him to the ground, when Kepa was yards away having rushed from his goal, is indicative of the lack of trust the back four have in their goalkeeper.
If Chelsea are to settle their defensive issues - an absolute must if they are to realise Lampard's ambition of breaking the duopoly at the top of the Premier League - then the back four must have confidence in the man behind them. That Alisson, the keeper Chelsea had originally targeted over Kepa, was stood at the other end and saved Jorginho's second half penalty, only made his counterpart look more fragile.
Lampard is correct that he must support his goalkeeper. Perhaps the best way of helping rebuild his confidence is by allowing him to do so in private, away from the constant focus and dissection of a Premier League game. Mendy's arrival will certainly not be a panacea, but the Senegalese keeper offers what Caballero does not, viable, long term competition for Kepa. Whenever Lampard turned to Caballero in the Premier League last season there was a sense that it would not be too long before Kepa, the world's most expensive goalkeeper, returned given the former Manchester City man's age and ability to make a mistake or two of his own.
Yet with Mendy (bellow) there are no such assurances when Kepa is dropped. He will have to work harder in training, labour tirelessly to improve and - most importantly - impress when given the chance if he is to retain his spot.
Lampard may well be frustrated that, for all their summer spending, he has had to start the campaign with Kepa in goal, but once the deal for Mendy is over the line he will not hesitate to hand his new man a chance. It may be the best thing for all involved, even the man dropped.
Despite the issues of last season coming back to haunt Lampard yesterday, there were signs of progression. Timo Werner was again a menace, winning the penalty after being brought down by Liverpool's own big name signing, Thiago Alcantara. Kai Havertz looked shy of fitness but showed more flashes of what is to come.
Chelsea too will soon welcome Ben Chilwell and Thiago Silva to the fold, while Christian Pulisic is still to return from injury too. The excitement around the new arrivals is tangible and understandable, but midfielder Matteo Kovacic has warned that it is not as simple as signing players and becoming instantly successful.
"We have some good new signings but it is a lot of players [to settle in]," he said. "Still we need to keep working and it is not easy just to come new players and then play good. We need to keep working on ourselves and it is a new beginning for us."
Lampard knows they will improve in the weeks to come, but all the firepower in the world cannot rely on such a shaky platform at the back.
