Kepa Arrizabalaga returns as Chelsea give £71m man another chance

Champions League dead rubber against Krasnodar perfect opportunity for Frank Lampard

Chelsea's Kepa Arrizabalaga will be playing his first Champions League game in a year. Reuters

The last time the world’s most expensive goalkeeper took the field, a disgruntled Frank Lampard stated bluntly that Chelsea needed to cut out the errors. Kepa Arrizabalaga was culpable for Southampton’s second goal that October day. He conceded three times in 90 minutes. Since then, Edouard Mendy has only let in three goals in 11 games.

Arrizabalaga returns to the team on Tuesday, a Champions League dead rubber against Krasnodar permitting Lampard to rotate. The teenage midfielder Billy Gilmour will begin his first senior match of the season after recovering from a knee injury.

Much of the attention, though, will be on the £71 million ($94m) man. Arrizabalaga had the lowest save percentage of any Premier League regular last season; now Mendy has the highest and his excellence has allowed Lampard to recall his costly understudy.

“Kepa starts,” Lampard said. “I have no qualms about putting him back in. His situation is different now with Mendy’s form. Mendy has made himself a permanent fixture at this point. The pressure to win games means I pick people in form. Kepa has been training brilliantly well and acting brilliantly well. These periods will happen in players’ careers.”

If the Spaniard is yet to flourish on the field, he has at least impressed off it. Lampard believes he has contributed to Mendy’s fine form.

“Kepa has been very supportive. I have seen that. I watch from afar and he has been supporting him quietly and training well. That's what I look at. Goalkeepers have to push each other and I see that. His reaction has been spot on.”

It will be Arrizabalaga’s first Champions League game for a year. Lampard dropped him a few weeks before February’s clash with Bayern Munich and again a fortnight before August’s belated return, with Willy Caballero supplanting him both times.

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Chelsea v Leeds United ratings

CHELSEA RATINGS: Edouard Mendy 6 – Was partially at fault for Leeds’ opener. He came off his line when he might have been better off not committing, and he was rounded by Bamford. Otherwise pretty solid. EPA

Reece James 7 – Was effective at both ends of the pitch. He delivered a scintillating cross for Giroud to volley home the equaliser, and he was also strong in the air and in the challenge in defence. AFP

Kurt Zouma 7 – if Mendy was at fault for the Leeds goal then it could be argued Zouma was too. His hesitation may have caused a bit of confusion. However, he more than made up for it by heading home the winner. Reuters

Thiago Silva 7 – Another classy performance. Was solid at the back and effortless in possession. At one stage, he played a delightful and precise volleyed pass. On another, he made a key block to deny Raphinha. AFP

Ben Chilwell 6 – Showed his propensity for getting forward but was not as his best. Chilwell definitely helps Chelsea attack with pace, but his passing on this occasion was sometimes wayward. AFP

Kai Havertz 5 – A poor first half, but Havertz improved in the second and he almost scored with a header, but he sent his effort over when a deft touch probably would have been enough. Overall: gave the ball away too easily too often. EPA

N’Golo Kante 8 – Back to his best sat in front of the back four. Snuffed out attacks, intercepted passes and quickly started attacks by playing the simple ball. Reuters

Mason Mount 8 – Another passionate and energetic performance from the attacking midfielder. Never stopped running, was strong in the challenge too, and contributed a number of key passes, including the cross for Zouma’s winner. AFP

Hakim Ziyech 6 – Came close to scoring in the first minute when he controlled Thiago Silva’s long pass before driving a low shot straight at Keisler. Was involved in the first goal but limped off soon after. EPA

Olivier Giroud 8 – Came close on several occasions before hitting his fifth goal in two games thanks to his neat movement and deadly finish. Did a lot of work off the ball and certainly boosted his chances of starting more regularly. Reuters

Timo Werner 6 – A mixed game. He hit the crossbar when it seemed impossible to miss. He played on the right, and struggled, but still manage to carve out three further goalscoring chances and crossed for Christian Pulisic to tap home at the death. EPA

SUB: Christian Pulisic (Ziyech) 7 – Looked bright when he came on and his positive runs caused Leeds a number of problems. Capped a fine performance with a goal late on. Reuters

SUB: Tammy Abraham (Giroud) N/A – didn’t do a lot wrong when he came on but wasn’t as effective as Giroud when it came to disrupting the Leeds defence. Reuters

Mateo Kovacic (Havertz) 6 – Came on with 23 minutes to go and looked tidy in possession when he had the ball. Reuters

LEEDS UNITED RATINGS: Illan Meslier 6 – The youngster could do little to keep out Giroud’s equaliser or Zouma’s winner. He got lucky in the first half when a poor pass put Luke Ayling under pressure. He made up for it with a superb triple save in the second half. AFP

Luke Ayling 6 – A fabulous attacking presence for Leeds who looked a danger when striding forward on the overlap. Had his hands full when battling with Timo Werner throughout, but an otherwise solid performance. Reuters

Robin Koch N/A – The defender had been short of match fitness coming into this game and the decision failed to pay off as he was replaced by Llorente in the opening 10 minutes. AFP

Liam Cooper 5 – Looked like the weak link in the side. Gave the ball away on numerous occasions and was often out of position, like when Giroud equalised. Made some key interceptions, but not consistent enough. EPA

Ezgan Alioski 5 – Substituted with 20 minutes left on the clock, he found it hard when facing Werner or Pulisic and offered very little at either end. Reuters

Kalvin Phillips 7 – Another classy performance from the midfielder, who delivered the perfect pass to slice open Chelsea’s defence for Bamford’s goal. Enjoyed a tremendous battle with N’Golo Kante. Reuters

Raphinha 6 – Leeds rarely threatened Mendy’s goal but Raphinha came close twice in a matter of seconds. His first effort was blocked by Thiago Silva, his second blazed over the bar. Found space hard to come by. EPA

Mateusz Klich 5 – A key part of Bielsa’s system, he was snuffed out by the combination of Kante, Mount and Havertz in the Chelsea midfield. Reuters

Stuart Dallas 5 – Dallas played both at the back and in midfield in different phases of the game but looked lost throughout. Like Klich, he struggled against Chelsea’s effective midfield. Reuters

Jack Harrison 5 – A quiet game on the left-hand side, as Leeds’ main attacking play came on the other side.. Harrison’s crossing let him down when he did have the ball. AFP

Patrick Bamford 6 – Gave Leeds the lead with a well taken goal. He managed to evade the oncoming Edouard Mendy to side foot into an empty net but was subsequently well marshalled by Silva and Zouma thereafter. EPA

SUB: Diego Llorente (Koch) 6 – Did OK when he came on, though almost gave the ball away when he miskicked an attempted clearance across the face of his own area. EPA

SUB: Rodrigo (Alioski) 7 – Gave Leeds a bit more of an attacking presence when he came on and though he failed to create any goalscoring chances, he boosted his chances of starting next time around. EPA

SUB: Ian Poveda-Ocampo (Harrison) 6 – Looked bright on the right-hand side and had calls for a penalty when he was clipped – but didn’t go down – inside the penalty area. AFP

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Now a chance has come when his position as a reserve has been cemented. “It is about attitude,” Lampard said.

He will experiment. A weakened team won 4-0 against Sevilla in Spain last week, one of the competition’s outstanding results this season. Now his options on the flanks are reduced with Callum Hudson-Odoi injured and Hakim Ziyech undergoing a scan on the hamstring injury he sustained against Leeds on Saturday.

Timo Werner may be pressed into service again with Lampard professing himself unconcerned by the summer signing’s recent misses, including an open goal against Leeds. “I have no worries about Timo,” he said.

“He has made a big impact already. He's scored some goals already, of course he'll want to be scoring more and he's missed a couple, but he is going to be a huge player for this club.”

Werner’s fellow German Kai Havertz has had more of a stop-start Chelsea career, interrupted most recently by coronavirus. Havertz has only scored once in 13 Premier and Champions League games and did not start in November but Lampard, who initially used him on the right and as a false nine, believes he has been at his best in midfield.

“He had really strong symptoms of Covid,” he said. “He was ill and struggling for quite a while. Some of the players who have had it have been symptom-free. Before his test, his form was fantastic in the No. 8 role. You could see he was enjoying it. He has all the attributes to be an absolutely top-class player for the league and the world.”

Jurgen Klopp rates Chelsea sufficiently highly that he has deemed them favourites to win the title. Lampard politely disagreed. “I'm not sure anyone actually really went for it,” he said. "I think Liverpool and Manchester City seem to be pretty much everyone's favourites, when they perform the way they have in the last three years.”