Graham Potter praised Chelsea star for sensational efforts to secured his spots

Chelsea head coach Graham Potter gave Kepa Arrizabalaga a vote of confidence after defeating Crystal Palace.

Chelsea came from behind to secure a hard-fought win at Selhurst Park by beating Crystal Palace 2-1 in dramatic fashion.

The result is Chelsea’s first win since Graham Potter took charge in what was only his second game and first league game as Chelsea boss.

The English manager attributed the win partly to the goalkeeping display of Kepa Arizabalaga in the Chelsea goal.

Potter hails Kepa

Spanish goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga has been the main beneficiary of Edouard Mendy’s injury having now played three games in his absence.

Kepa’s latest display against Crystal Palace was his first Premier League appearance of the season and it appears he has impressed the manager.

“I thought he did really well. He made a couple of big saves but also, his distribution in terms of his decision-making was really strong,” Potter said about Kepa.

The Englishman continued to wax lyrical about his goalkeeper, “You need players to step up and perform and Kepa did that today. So I am really happy for him.”

Kepa’s performance against Crystal Palace

Kepa made just two saves and conceded a goal which doesn’t seem all that impressive but it was his activity with the ball that stood out.

The Spaniard finished the game with an 86% pass accuracy, completing 19/22 passes, ⅝ of which were long balls.

Mendy has every reason to sweat over his position on the evidence of Kepa’s performances in his absence, he faces a fight to regain the number one shirt especially since Potter prefers ball-playing goalkeepers.