It was a weird evening for Willy Caballero as Kepa Arrizabalaga denied him the chance of becoming a penalty hero in Chelsea’s Carabao Cup final against Manchester City.
Chelsea had played a tough game with City, and the game ended in a stalemate after extra time. Towards the end of extra time, Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri decided to sub off Kepa for former Manchester City goalkeeper Willy Caballero. However, Kepa refused to leave the pitch much to the frustration of the manager.
Kepa refused to leave the pitch, and after a period of confusion between referee Jon Moss and Sarri, the Spaniard remained on the pitch while Caballero returned to the bench.
According to reports, Caballero looked ‘distraught’ after Arrizabalaga refused to be substituted in Chelsea’s Carabao Cup final defeat to Manchester City.
According to Sky Sports’ touchline reporter, Caballero looked ‘distraught’ by Kepa’s actions as he was forced to watch the rest of the game from the bench.
However, as the game approached penalties, Caballero put the situation behind him and went on to shake Kepa, wishing him well in the shootout.
At the end, Kepa was able to save Leroy Sane’s penalty and almost denied Sergio Aguero, but the ball slipped under him into the net with Jorginho and David Luiz also losing their spot kicks.
Sarri, meanwhile, played down the incident after the game and insists a delay in information he received from Chelsea’s team doctor caused the confusion.
“I understood there was a problem and we needed a change, then I realised the situation only when the doctor arrived to the bench after 4 minutes, so it was a big misunderstanding,” Sarri said.
“I understood that the goalkeeper had cramp, so for me he was unable to go to the penalties. But the problem was not a cramp, so he was able to go to the penalties.
On his decision to nearly walk down the tunnel, the Chelsea boss added: “I needed only to return to be quiet. As I said the goalkeeper understood that I asked a change, for his physical problem, and he said that I haven’t a physical problem, so he was right I think.”
