Kepa the Unlikely Hero as Chelsea Overcome Villarreal in Super Cup Shootouts

Chelsea, Italian Football, Serie A

At Windsor Park in Belfast, Chelsea and Villarreal locked horns for the UEFA Super Cup. The Blues were crowned European Champions after beating their compatriots Manchester City in the Champions League Final last June, whilst the Yellow Submarines entered the big clash as the Europa League winners.

It was a tale of two halves, with the Englishmen dominating the first half and scoring a goal in the process, and their opponents bouncing back with a big second period. Eventually the match could only be decided by penalties and, weirdly enough, a much-maligned figure amongst Chelsea fans ended up as the hero of the night.

With Romelu Lukaku yet to made official as Chelsea’s latest acquisition, Thomas Tuchel had to rely on Timo Werner upfront in his 3-4-3 lineup, supported by Kai Havertz and Hakim Ziyech. Mateo Kovacic took Jorginho’s spot in the double pivot beside N’Golo Kanté, whilst Callum Hodson-Odoi and Marcus Alonso started in the wingback roles.

On the other hand, Unai Emery started with a 4-3-3 formation, spearheaded by Gerard Moreno, with Yeremi Pino and Boulaye Dia on the flanks. Former Napoli defender Raul Albiol led from back alongside Pau Torres, with Juan Foyth and Alfonso Pedroza as fullbacks.

The West Londoners laid their siege towers around the Spanish areas from the get-go and Alonso’s corner kick was met by Werner’s volley, but Sergio Asenjo pulled off a big save.

Few minutes later, Kanté stole the ball and unleashed a shot from the edge of the box that went just wide of the post as Villarreal were able to weather the early Chelsea storm.

Nonetheless, the English side managed to break the deadlock before the half-hour mark, as Alonso released Havertz on the left flank, and the German charged on the wing before feeding Ziyech. The Milan transfer market target sneaked inside the penalty box and put the ball past the hapless goalkeeper.

The Premiere League club almost added a second goal few minutes afterwards, but Alonso’s low drive was denied by a wonderful save from Asenjo.

Before the end of the first period, the author of the first goal had to leave the pitch, as Ziyech made way for Christian Pulisic after taking a knock.

The Spaniards had their first real opportunity with the last kick before half-time. Alberto Moreno’s volley rocked the woodwork, but the ball couldn’t cross line and the first half ended with a slight but well-deserved advantage for the Blues.

After the break, we witnessed a major change in the dynamics, with Villarreal becoming the dominating side and Chelsea being pressed back deep into their own areas.

In the 52nd minute, Gerard Moreno found himself clear on goal. Although he managed to put his shot past Edouard Mendy, the Spaniard’s attempt was denied by the post.

Nonetheless, the yellow team continued to press forward, and eventually found their deserved equalizer through Moreno himself. The Spain international played a marvelous give-and-go with Dia, before sending an absolute rocket towards the top corner that left the Senegalese shot-stopper with absolutely no chance.

The Blues woke up after conceding and went back to the offensive. Although they held possession for the rest of the normal time, they failed to create dangerous attempts. However, Alonso smashed a shot into the side netting as the match headed towards extra-time.

The 30 additional minutes turned out to be a mostly uneventful affair, with very few clear-cut opportunities. In the 100th minute, Pulisic pounced on a loose ball as he sprinted inside the opposition’s penalty box. With the Villarreal goal at his mercy, the Chelsea winger failed to hit the target.

In the second half of extra-time, another Chelsea substitute went close, as Mason Mount’s shot was denied by a brilliant save from Asenjo.

In the end, the match had to resort to penalty kicks, with Tuchel deciding to bet on substitute goalkeeper and Maurizio Sarri’s “best friend” Kepa Arrizabalaga.

Not even the first five spot-kicks were enough to separate the two sides, with Havertz and Aissa Mendy both seeing their attempts saved. But in the end, Kepa turned out the be the unlikely hero, denying his compatriot Albiol on the seventh Villarreal spot-kick, as Chelsea add yet another European trophy to their ever-growing cabinet.

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