Before the nerve-wracking thriller, Thomas Tuchel did not rely solely on his gut feeling.
"It has been proven that Kepa is better in this discipline," said the German football coach of Chelsea after the 6: 5 on penalties in the final of the European Supercup against Villarreal and referred to the statistics.
Shortly before the extension ended, the 47-year-old swapped goalkeepers.
Kepa came in for Édouard Mendy - and the Spaniard held on to the decision from the point against Aïssa Mandi and veteran Raúl Albiol.
Chelsea cheered.
"You accepted it"
"We had to do what is best for the team," said Tuchel about his coup.
"I'm glad it worked." It had been discussed with the goalkeepers in the squad that this case could occur in knockout games.
“They accepted it and said there was absolutely no problem.” Kepa said, “It's not a typical situation.
Edouard and the rest of the team did a fantastic job. "
After 120 minutes in the competition of the Champions League winner against the winner of the Europa League, the score was 1: 1.
"Physically it was the worst that can happen," said Tuchel during the press conference.
"Psychologically it was the best to start with a title." The Blues are already starting the new season of the English Premier League this Saturday against Crystal Palace.
"It was tough," said Tuchel about the game in the Northern Irish capital Belfast.
“We were strong in the first 30 minutes.
Then we lost a bit of speed.
The compensation was deserved. ”Overall, however, his team invested more.
“We deserve to win.” Hakim Ziyech (27th) had taken the lead after preliminary work by the German national player Kai Harvertz.
Gerard Moreno (73.) provided with his goal for the extension.
It remained open on Wednesday how badly Ziyech injured himself during the game.
The Moroccan international had to be treated for minutes shortly before the break and was then replaced.
"If you lose a player in the first half, it's serious," said Tuchel.
"He was a very decisive player recently."