Champions League Little Real Madrid for a final: Chelsea finishes him off at Stamford Bridge
They say that
Frank Lampard
, despite his status as a 'blue' legend, despite the great work he had done the previous year, had already assumed since the summer that his days as Chelsea manager were numbered.
Of the list of signings he requested, in his attempt to recover the most 'British' essence of the London team, only
Ben Chilwell
arrived at Stamford Bridge.
The hiring of
Kai Havertz
,
Timo Werner
and
Hakim Ziyech
responded to decisions of the club, of the structure that governs
Marina Granosvskaya
.
And, to top it all, the start of the competition was approaching and he still did not have the reinforcement he most wanted, his trust in
Kepa Arrizabalaga
already exhausted.
: a porter.
The great desire was
Jan Oblak
for a long time
, but the 120 million euros of his clause were unaffordable.
Dean Henderson
, after his great season on loan at Sheffield United, also left the 'casting' early, as Manchester United was not willing to let him out. Apparently, the one Lampard wanted as a third option was
Nick Pope
, the Burnley goalkeeper. But instead he found a name unknown to the general public, a Franco-Senegalese named
Édouard Mendy
who immediately claimed ownership on his own merits. Lampard left,
Thomas Tuchel
arrived and many things changed. But under sticks that stem of almost two meters and spectacular reflections continued.
Thus begins the story that wrote its last chapter to date this Wednesday at Stamford Bridge, when the Chelsea goalkeeper frustrated in the first half, before the rain of missed chances by the English, the comeback attempts of Real Madrid. In the 26th minute, a prodigious stretch to deflect Karim Benzema's cross lash from the edge. Nine minutes later, another monstrous intervention against a powerful header from the French forward. From then on, his 'momentum' stifled by Mendy,
Zidane's
team
was diluted, on the way to his inevitable elimination.
"When I was young I really liked
Real Madrid
. Now I have to put my feelings aside and concentrate on the objectives of my club," he had said a few days ago in statements to Chelsea's own website, recalling a friendly that he played against the whites defending the Rennes shirt. It was in the Breton city that he launched a career that seemed doomed to the minor divisions of French football. Until three years ago, when he was 26 years old, he did not play in Ligue 1. At 24, he still competed in the Fourth Division. Two years earlier, in 2014, he had gone to an unemployment office to request the subsidy because no club offered him a job. And today...
It was
Peter Cech
, a 'blue' legend under the sticks and today a club executive, who offered his name to Chelsea when the search for a solvent goalkeeper seemed already unsuccessful.
The word of the Czech, who had also played as a young man for Rennes, convinced the London club to pay the 25 million euros required by a goalkeeper unknown to the general public.
Months later, Mendy is indisputable in Chelsea's goal, having conceded three goals in 11 Champions League games and being the goalkeeper with the highest percentage of clean sheets in the entire Premier.
¿
Oblak
?
¿
Henderson
?
¿
Pope
?
Mendy is fine.
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