Tag: CHELSEA

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Jorginho penalty earns Blues dramatic win

Chelsea had to rely on a stoppage-time penalty from Jorginho to finally overcome Leeds in a dramatic 3-2 victory in the Premier League on Saturday.

Goals from Mason Mount and two penalties from the Italian cancelled out Raphinha’s opener and Joe Gelhardt’s late strike in a topsy turvy affair at Stamford Bridge.

Having lost top spot in the Premier League last week after losing 3-2 at West Ham, before also losing first place in their Champions League group following a 3-3 draw at Zenit, another setback was the last thing Thomas Tuchel’s men needed.

The Blues almost had that setback as they threw away a lead for the third time in a week when substitute Gelhardt struck in the 83rd minute, but a foolish challenge by Mateusz Klich on Antonio Rudiger gave Jorginho the chance to win it in the 94th minute from the spot, and he made no mistake.

2 – Antonio Rüdiger is only the second Chelsea player to win two penalties in a single Premier League match, after Yuri Zhirkov against Aston Villa in March 2010. Cunning.

The hosts started brightly, determined to make amends for a sloppy week prior, but it was the visitors who took the lead when they were awarded a penalty in the 26th minute after Marcos Alonso brought down Dan James in the box.

Raphinha stepped up to outfox Mendy and put Leeds ahead with a penalty that would have made Jorginho proud had it not been against his team.

Alonso atoned for his indiscretion four minutes before half-time as he won the ball from Stuart Dallas and whipped a low cross into the near post, where Mount was waiting to equalise.

Just before the hour mark, Jorginho had a chance to replicate Raphinha after a VAR check deemed the Leeds goalscorer to have fouled Rudiger in the penalty area, and the Italian sent Illan Meslier the wrong way with a trademark effort from the spot.

Gelhardt thought he had snatched a point for his team when he turned home a Tyler Roberts cross with seven minutes to go, but Jorginho’s second spot-kick of the day late on won it for the Blues.

What does it mean? Blues back to winning ways

After a defeat last week and the blow of drawing late in the Champions League in midweek, Chelsea looked particularly relieved to eventually find the win here, especially after title rivals Manchester City’s victory against Wolves earlier in the day.

Tuchel will still not be pleased at how sloppy his team were when ahead, but Chelsea looked impressive when hunting the lead, managing five attempts at goal in the five minutes between Mount’s strike and the half-time whistle.

Chelsea have now won their last five home league games against Leeds – the first time they have ever managed such a run against their historic rivals.

Mount impressive again

Mount has been in excellent form of late, both scoring and assisting a goal in three of his previous four Premier League starts before today.

He only managed a goal on this occasion but could easily have had an assist as well, such was his creativity, providing five crosses in another all-action display, the most of any Blues player.

Mount also has the most league goals (10) and assists (six) of any Chelsea player under Tuchel.

More London blues for Leeds

It was an unlucky afternoon at Stamford Bridge for Marcelo Bielsa’s men, who had their chances and were within minutes of what would have been a well-earned draw.

The Whites have now won just two of their last 33 away matches in London in all competitions (D7 L24) and have lost three of their last four games when scoring first in the capital: also against Chelsea last December and against Tottenham in November (winning 2-1 in the other vs Fulham).

What’s next?

There’s more Premier League action on the horizon as Chelsea host Everton on Thursday while Leeds travel to Manchester City on Tuesday.

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Chelsea forced to settle for second place

Chelsea were forced to settle for second place in Group H after an injury-time equaliser from Magomed Ozdoev clinched a 3-3 draw for Zenit in the Champions League.

Two goals from Timo Werner and another from Romelu Lukaku were not enough to secure the victory for the Blues, with Claudinho, Sardar Azmoun and Ozdoev all scoring for Zenit in Russia, and the Blues will now not be seeded in Monday’s draw for the last 16 after finishing below Juventus, who beat Malmo in Turin.

The momentum of the game swung back and forth several times, with Chelsea’s Kepa Arrizabalaga kept particularly busy.

Blues boss Thomas Tuchel was missing a number of midfielders, including Jorginho, N’Golo Kante and Mateo Kovacic, and started Ross Barkley and Reece James in the middle, with Atletico Madrid loanee Saul Niguez being utilised at left wing back.

Chelsea took the lead in just the second minute when a Barkley corner was flicked on at the near post by Andreas Christensen, allowing Werner a simple tap-in.

Zenit should have been level on 26 minutes when Malcom was played in on goal, but the former Barcelona winger was denied by Kepa.

The equaliser did arrive 12 minutes later when Douglas Santos played a ball into the box that was glanced in by the head of Claudinho.

The hosts then took the lead before half-time when Barkley was dispossessed in midfield, with Malcom sliding Azmoun in behind a chaotic Chelsea defence. The Iran international took the ball round Kepa before slotting home, with the Blues goalkeeper forced to make another save from Azmoun just moments later.

Chelsea improved in the second half and were level just after the hour as Werner and Barkley played a one-two on the edge of the box, with the German giving Lukaku an easy tap in to make it 2-2.

Azmoun was denied another as Kepa made a fine save down to his left following a header from the striker, before Werner finished off a nice move five minutes from time, narrowly remaining onside.

However, the visitors failed to hold on as a tremendous strike from substitute Ozdoev deep into stoppage time levelled it up to ensure the spoils were shared.

This was a second chaotic game in the space of a week for Tuchel’s men, which will have the German scratching his head considering how organised they have looked for much of his reign.

After surrendering top spot in the Premier League following their 3-2 defeat at West Ham on Saturday – where they also conceded a late goal – Chelsea lost first place in their Champions League group as well, and could potentially now face Real Madrid or Bayern Munich in the last 16.

Tuchel was forced into several changes, but will still have been irked by the lack of shape in this game, with Zenit looking the more dangerous across the 90 minutes, having 18 shots to Chelsea’s 13, with seven on target.

James has been one of Chelsea’s standout players this season playing at right wing back, but the England international was moved to midfield in Russia due to a growing injury list at Stamford Bridge.

Despite the disappointing result, James looked the part for most of the game, topping the list of Chelsea players for total passes (81), successful passes (76) and total passes in the opposition half (49), while also gaining possession eight times.

James’ versatility could come in very handy for Tuchel in the next few weeks while he waits for his first-choice midfielders to return.

Normally, you cannot question Chelsea’s defence. Since Tuchel’s first Champions League game in charge of the club in February, the Blues had only conceded three goals in 12 games in the competition before this one.

Their nine clean sheets in this period was the highest total of any team, and had they kept one here, they would have been the fastest team and manager combination to reach 10 clean sheets in the competition (13 games), ahead of Ajax under Louis van Gaal, Milan under Fabio Capello and Real Madrid under Jose Mourinho (all 14 games).

However, without Thiago Silva and Antonio Rudiger, Chelsea’s backline looked all over the place for large parts of this game, with Cesar Azpilicueta, Christensen and Malang Sarr being regularly pulled this way and that by the Zenit attack.

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ARTHUR MASUAKU’S LATE STUNNER HELPS WESTHAM TOPPLE CHELSEA

Arthur Masuaku’s bizarre late strike sent Chelsea spinning to a 3-2 defeat at West Ham in a rip-roaring London derby.

Thomas Tuchel’s pace setters led twice through a Thiago Silva header and a sublime goal from Mason Mount, but they were pegged back both times by a penalty from Manuel Lanzini and Jarrod Bowen’s strike.

And with four minutes remaining substitute Masuaku, lurking out on the left wing, swung a speculative effort towards the Chelsea goal which Blues keeper Edouard Mendy pushed inside his own near post.

It was a second costly error by Mendy, who had also given away the penalty after he failed to deal with a backpass.

Not that West Ham were complaining, having got back to winning ways after three games without a victory to ensure they will stay in the top four this weekend.

There was little sign of the drama to come when Chelsea made the breakthrough in the 28th minute, with the type of goal West Ham have become synonymous with this season.

Mount swung over a corner and Silva’s thumping downward header beat Lukasz Fabianski, who got a hand to the ball but could only touch it onto the inside of his far post.

Moments later veteran centre-half Silva got back to his day job, instinctively being in the right place at the right time to block Vladimir Coufal’s shot on the line.

But West Ham were gifted a route into the match when Mendy made an almighty mess of collecting a weak Jorginho backpass and, having been challenged by Bowen, brought the Hammers forward down.

West Ham have had their issues from the penalty spot this season but David Moyes resisted sending on Mark Noble – who missed after climbing off the bench against Manchester United – for this one, and Lanzini confidently dispatched it into the top left corner, sending Mendy the wrong way.

However, a minute before the break Chelsea went back in front after West Ham gave the ball away cheaply in midfield.

Mount had acres of space to gather Hakim Ziyech’s cross-field pass, but still opted to hit it first time for a spectacular fifth goal of the season.

Left-back Ben Johnson seemed to be carrying an injury as he was unable to track Mount’s run, and he was immediately substituted for Masuaku.

Kai Havertz did not come out for the second half, having come off worse in a collision with ex-Chelsea defender Kurt Zouma, with Romelu Lukaku – who has nine career goals against the Hammers to his name – sent on.

But it was West Ham who struck next in the 55th minute with a fine finish from Bowen, across an unsighted Mendy and into the far corner to equalise again.

An injury to Zouma forced a reshuffle for Moyes, who had started with a back five to match up with Chelsea’s, only to run out of defenders.

They reverted to four at the back with midfielder Pablo Fornals joining the action, and Bowen was agonisingly close to putting West Ham ahead when he could not quite get enough on Michail Antonio’s ball across goal.

Instead it was the unlikely figure of Masuaku who collected Antonio’s header, floated it goalwards and duly inflicted Chelsea’s second defeat of the season.

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JORGINHO PENALTY RESCUES CHELSEA FOR A DRAW AGAINST MANCHESTER UNITED.

A second half penalty saved Chelsea’s blushes and they drew 1-1 with Manchester United on Sunday in what could be Michael Carrick’s final game in charge before Ralf Rangnick takes over.

Jorginho made up for an earlier howler which allowed Jadon Sancho to score for United by slotting home a penalty 20 minutes from the end of the match.

“On the pitch, in the goal, I was feeling danger for nearly the whole game. We defended well, they missed big chances and the one they give us a chance we score. It is not enough to draw but at the moment it is a big point,” United goalkeeper David de Gea said after the match.

“The last games before we were conceding three or four goals. We are improving. This is just two games. At least now we are defending well. We are fighting for every ball. We are a team.”

Sancho was able to give United the lead on 50 minutes when a Reece James free-kick was half cleared. Jorginho miscontrolled the ball which allowed Sancho, with Marcus Rashford alongside him, to run at the goal and slot the ball home.

The mistake was less costly than it could have been, however, when Aaron Wan-Bissaka brought Thiago Silva down in the box. Jorginho stepped up and scored the penalty, sending De Gea the wrong way.

The result lessens Chelsea’s lead at the top of the table to one point while United climb to eighth.

“We cannot be surprised [that the title race is so close,” Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel said after the game.

“Things like this happen. We played such good games against Burnley and Manchester Untied and feel disappointed as we think by far we did enough. Over a long season you drop points and you dig in and try to steal them back if someone steals them from you.

“We are in the middle of the race and this is where we want to be.”

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CHELSEA RUN RIOT AGAINST JUVENTUS TO TAKE CONTROL OF UCL GROUP

Trevoh Chalobah, Reece James, Callum Hudson-Odoi and Timo Werner struck to sink Juventus 4-0 and march an imperious Chelsea into the Champions League’s last 16.

The defending champions battered the outclassed Italians, Chelsea booking their place in the knockout stages but also overhauling their Serie A rivals at the top of Group H.

Match or better Juve’s result in the final set of round-robin fixtures in early December and the Blues will top the group.

Chelsea’s sole concerns on a raucous west London night proved injury scares for N’Golo Kante and Ben Chilwell, who both hobbled out of action well ahead of time.

England wing-back James became Chelsea’s outright top scorer for the season so far. The unassuming 21-year-old now boasts five goals and five assists for the term and continued his revelatory form with a sublime finish against The Old Lady.

Fast-improving young defender Chalobah lashed Chelsea into an early lead, palming his hands together in celebratory prayer. An outmanoeuvred Juventus side would quickly be left to wish for divine intervention, such was the scale of Chelsea’s stifling dominance.

Thomas Tuchel has long since vowed to make Chelsea horrible to play against, and on this evidence that mission is complete.

James struck and Hudson-Odoi finished a sumptuous team goal before replacement Werner rounded off the rout at the death.

Chelsea ripped straight into opponents seemingly entirely unprepared for the Blues’ gameplan.

The sluggish visitors were pulled apart time and again by an increasingly slick Chelsea side and once the hosts coupled that tight attacking approach with the ability to recover the ball almost immediately, a bleak night unfurled in front of the stunned Juve players.

Chalobah could have opened the scoring in mere minutes with a squarer connection to Ziyech’s corner, before Matthijs De Ligt had to deflect Chilwell’s low cross to safety.

James almost caught Wojciech Szczesny napping from a free-kick on the wing after the out-of-sorts Juan Cuadrado had been booked for hauling down Hudson-Odoi.

Chalobah finally provided the inevitable Chelsea lead, lashing into the net after a deflected corner.

Juventus’ woeful first-half showing descended into protesting an obviously issue-free goal, the visiting defence clutching at straws in claiming any kind of Chelsea handball.

Adrien Rabiot’s faltering clearing header deflected off Antonio Rudiger’s arm at point-blank range, with the Chelsea defender looking entirely in the opposite direction. Chalobah swept home as Juve protested pointlessly, with the Blues’ goal rightly standing.

Juve rallied to the point of Morata lobbing Mendy on the break, only for the ageless Thiago Silva to conjure a stunning goal-line clearance.

James chested down Hudson-Odoi’s crossfield ball to fire in a sweet strike on goal that forced Szczesny to tip around the post.

Rudiger nodded wide from another teasing Ziyech corner and Bonucci had to mop up just as Hudson-Odoi looked to pull the trigger having nipped in behind on Jorginho’s lofted pass.

Silva flicked a header on target to open the second half before Ziyech and Hudson-Odoi should have combined for a goal, but neither could quite find space for a shot.

James’ bullet finish doubled the home lead however, as the England wing-back chested down before delivering the killer blow.

Juventus never recovered, and conceded again in a flash.

Rudiger raked a ball out to James and he chopped inside in one touch then laid off to Ziyech, who slipped a first-time pass into Ruben Loftus-Cheek.

The resurgent former England midfielder skipped over two challenges in the area and cut through to Hudson-Odoi, who did the rest with a fine finish.

Just when Juventus thought their ignominy was at an end, James pinged a crossfield pass to Ziyech and his low ball invited Werner to tap into the empty net.

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Manchester United and Chelsea eye knockout qualification

NYON, SWITZERLAND - July 22: A general view of the trophy ahead of the UEFA Champions League 2019/20 Third Qualifying Round draw at the UEFA headquarters, The House of European Football on July 22, 2019 in Nyon, Switzerland. (Photo by Harold Cunningham - UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images)

Chelsea and Manchester United fly the English flag on Tuesday with both clubs knowing victories will ensure progression.

Life after Ole Gunnar Solskjaer begins for United with a difficult trip to Villarreal in Group F.

The duo are level at the top but know that Atalanta will look to take advantage of whichever team drops points.

Donny van de Beek is one player who may find himself given a real chance at Old Trafford after Solskjaer’s reluctance to play him.

Our match preview focuses on the Dutchman and considers what he can bring to the Red Devils in the short term.

Chelsea can secure their spot in the knockout stages with victory over Group H leaders Juventus at Stamford Bridge.

Juve’s 100% record means they are assured of a spot in the last 16 but the Blues will want three points and the chance to top the group.

Christian Pulisic returned from his injury troubles with a goal at Leicester on Saturday and may be given a chance to shine against the Italian giants.

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Real boost for City and Chelsea in Haaland race

Manchester City and Chelsea have been handed a huge boost in the race to sign Erling Haaland.

Spanish giants Real Madrid have reportedly accepted the Norwegian is destined to move to the Premier League.

Haaland, 21, has a £64million release clause that comes into play at the end of the season.

And with Europe’s biggest clubs all interested in signing him, Borussia Dortmund expect to lose their star striker.

But The Sun say the feeling at the Bernabeu is Haaland will likely end up playing English football.

Real are clear favourites to sign Kylian Mbappe on a free when his contract at Paris Saint-Germain expires next year. 

But their dream of pairing the two hottest young stars in football alongside each other in the Spanish capital appears to be over.

And that will be music to the ears of the bigwigs at the Etihad, Stamford Bridge and maybe even Old Trafford.

Like City and Chelsea, Manchester United have previously been linked with a move for Haaland.

Pep Guardiola heaped praise on the forward before the Citizens faced Dortmund in the Champions League quarter-finals last season.

He said: “To score that number of goals at his age is not easy. The numbers speak for themselves.

“When that happens it’s because he can score with the right, the left, via counter-attacks, in the box. He’s a fantastic striker, everyone knows it.”

Haaland has 13 goals in 10 games this season but has missed time with injuries and is expected to remain on the sidelines until next month, 

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REECE JAMES BAGS BRACE AS PREMIER LEAGUE LEADERS EASE PAST NEWCASTLE

Reece James crashed home a second-half double as Chelsea beat Newcastle 3-0 at St James’ Park to extend their lead at the top of the Premier League table.

England defender James produced a brilliant finish midway through the second period and then made it 2-0 by driving home a rebound before Jorginho sealed victory by converting a late penalty.

The Blues moved three points clear at the top with their fourth-successive Premier League win.

Defeat for managerless Newcastle saw them equal their longest winless run at the beginning of a top-flight season of 10 games, which was set in 1898 and 2018.

It was not the way interim-boss Graeme Jones wanted to hand over the reins, with Newcastle expected to appoint a permanent replacement for Steve Bruce before next week’s trip to Brighton.

Jones’ side made life difficult for Thomas Tuchel’s European champions, but they ran out of gas as Chelsea extended their unbeaten league run on the road this season to five matches.

Newcastle’s game-plan initially proved effective as they stifled the life out of Chelsea in a goalless, uneventful first half.

The Magpies were happy to let Chelsea have the ball, sitting deep and looking to hit them on the counter and were penned in for most of the first 45 minutes.

The home side’s best first-half chance came in the second minute when Ryan Fraser fired the ball across the face of goal, but nobody was close enough to get on the end of it.

Chelsea’s Hakim Ziyech thought he had scored with the game’s first shot on target in the 29th minute, but his effort was quickly ruled out for offside.

Ziyech should have given Chelsea the lead soon after when left unopposed on the left edge of the six-yard box, but he skied James’ ball over the crossbar.

Newcastle did all they could to slow the game down. Goalkeeper Karl Darlow was told to get a move on and Matt Ritchie was booked by referee Paul Tierney for delaying a throw-in, both before the interval.

The away side went close to breaking the deadlock early in the second half when Ziyech’s shot deflected off Jamaal Lascelles on to a post.

Jorginho then fired over and Chelsea’s frustrations were clear when N’Golo Kante – making his 200th Premier League appearance – and Ziyech were booked for rash challenges within the space of a few minutes.

But the visitors broke the deadlock in emphatic style in the 65th minute. Callum Hudson-Odoi’s cross fell to Reece on the right edge of the area and he slammed home a left-footed finish from a tight angle.

Chelsea began to find pockets of space as Newcastle legs tired and when Blues substitute Hudson-Odoi’s fierce drive struck Ciaran Clark, James thumped home his second in the 77th minute.

The visitors’ relentless approach was further rewarded three minutes later when Jorginho converted from the spot after Kai Havertz was tripped by Darlow.

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CHELSEA BEAT SOUTHAMPTON IN SHOOTOUT TO ADVANCE TO CARABAO CUP QUARTER FINAL

Chelsea needed another shootout to earn a place in the Carabao Cup quarter-finals with Southampton beaten 4-3 on penalties after a 1-1 draw in the 90 minutes at Stamford Bridge.

Reece James again provided the decisive kick like he had done in the previous round against Aston Villa after Theo Walcott and Will Smallbone had failed from 12 yards for the Saints.

Kai Havertz’s first-half goal had the hosts on course for another victory but Che Adams pegged the Champions League winners back before spot-kicks were required in west London.

Both managers made a plethora of changes but it was Blues boss Thomas Tuchel who made the fewest with only six from the thrashing of Norwich. Ross Barkley and Saul were among those handed a chance and they combined for the first opportunity in the sixth minute.

Barkley picked out Saul from a corner and only a stunning finger-tip save by the recalled Fraser Forster stopped the summer addition from opening his account for Chelsea.

Havertz had retained his spot from Saturday’s 7-0 win and after he missed out on a goal against the Canaries, the German was eager to make amends.

A first effort with his weaker right foot whistled past the post from 25 yards and his next in the 26th minute went even closer.

Havertz combined impressively with Barkley inside his own half before Marcos Alonso sent the forward away where he worked a yard of space and fired towards the top corner but Forster was able to parry wide for a corner.

It had been far from one-way traffic with Southampton, who matched up the hosts and went with wing-backs for the first time this term, causing problems and Adam Armstrong should have done better with a back post header following a corner by namesake Stuart Armstrong.

Off the pitch, Saints assistant Richard Kitzbichler had shown he was more than up for the fight after twice crossing words with Tuchel on the touchline with the pair tenacious during each exchange.

Another chance went the way of the visitors with 33 on the clock when Stuart Armstrong saw a shot blocked by Trevoh Chalobah after good work from Kyle Walker-Peters.

There was still time for one more opportunity before half-time and it proved decisive.

Barkley again caused problems with his delivery from a corner and this time Havertz was not to be denied, with the ex-Bayer Leverkusen ace able to guide his header into the bottom corner for his third goal of the campaign.

Southampton would not trail for long though with the equaliser coming two minutes after the break and Walker-Peters involved again.

The wing-back was played into the area and while his effort was blocked by the legs of Kepa Arrizabalaga, Adams was on hand to tap home and get off the mark this season.

It contributed towards a frantic start to the second period with Forster called into action on three occasions and equal to firstly Havertz and then Barkley and James while down the other end Adam Armstrong forced a fine save out of Chelsea’s second-choice goalkeeper.

With the Blues lacking control of the fourth-round tie, Tuchel turned to Ben Chilwell and Mason Mount but it was Saul who almost produced the second when he fired wide following Havertz’s cut-back before his curler forced Forster into another excellent stop.

Ralph Hasenhuttl also called for reinforcements and Smallbone nearly enjoyed a perfect return after nine months out following a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament but his header was saved by Kepa seconds after his 77th-minute entrance.

More heroics from the Spanish custodian in stoppage-time ensured penalties were required with Southampton’s two centre-backs Lyanco and Mohammed Salisu denied from Smallbone corners.

It saw the tie go to spot-kicks and although Forster produced a stunning save to thwart Mount, Walcott and Smallbone failed from 12 yards and it saw Chelsea go through to the last eight of the competition.

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AHEAD UCL: DEFENSIVE BOOST FOR CHELSEA AS THIAGO SILVA AND ANTONIO RUDIGER RETURN

Thiago Silva and Antonio Rudiger have bolstered Chelsea’s defensive options ahead of Wednesday’s Champions League clash with Malmo.

The centre-back pair missed Saturday’s 1-0 Premier League win at Brentford, but were both back in training on Monday.

Experienced centre-back Silva only returned from Brazil duty on Friday afternoon, leaving the 37-year-old short of preparation time for the Brentford trip.

Germany defender Rudiger picked up a minor back issue on national team duty and was forced to sit out the Blues’ gritty win on the road.

Senegal stopper Edouard Mendy pulled off a string of five saves against the Bees in a pivotal showing that helped push Chelsea back to the top of the league.

And now defender Andreas Christensen has lauded the Blues keeper’s stellar form.

“He showed on Saturday he is one of the top keepers in the world, not just the Premier League,” Christensen told Chelsea’s official club website.

“He is a top goalkeeper. You can see how important he is to us, to the team. Yet again we are lucky we have him.

“People can see and recognise what he can do and the quality he has.

“It is hard when you watch him every day because you don’t see the process.

“We just enjoy having him here. He was always a confident goalkeeper when he came in.

“He is very loud on the pitch and a really nice, confident guy off the pitch. He is trying to just help us every time.”