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Kepa Arrizabalaga might not be able to get into Chelsea's starting line-up at the moment but that hasn't stopped a section of the club's support from heaping praise the Spanish goalkeeper.
Edouard Mendy now holds the No 1 shirt for the Blues and the Senegal international kept a clean sheet on Saturday as Thomas Tuchel's side thrashed Southampton 6-0 at St Mary's.
The result will come as a major relief to Mendy, who made a costly error in Wednesday's 3-1 defeat to Real Madrid in the Champions League which allowed Karim Benzema to score his hat-trick goal at Stamford Bridge.
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Mendy faced criticism in the days after the defeat, with some Chelsea fans debating whether Kepa deserved an opportunity to play in goal against Southampton.
One fan took to social media to highlight an impressive piece of quick-thinking from the Spaniard in a match earlier this season.
The incident occurred in the second leg of Chelsea's Carabao Cup semi-final against Tottenham.
Spurs forward Lucas Moura pounced on a loose ball just outside Chelsea's penalty area and was preparing to pass to Harry Kane, who was unmarked inside the box.
Still haven't got over this 200 IQ offside trap by Kepa pic.twitter.com/KaoMAvbsZU
- ⁵ (@JF5Era) April 8, 2022
Kepa, realising the danger, rushed to the edge of his area while his teammate Antonio Rudiger retreated to defend the goal-line.
Moura passed the ball to Kane, who scored. But the goal was later ruled out by VAR after replays showed that England international was marginally offside, with Kepa in an unusual position behind the ball.
A fan reposted a clip of the incident to Twitter on Friday, alongside the caption: "Still haven't got over this 200 IQ offside trap by Kepa."
He added: "The quick thinking and the football IQ being displayed here is out of this world. Kepa is truly the best goalkeeper at this club."
I'm not sure if it's 200 IQ or if he just got lucky. It's a very close to being on side.
- Ed (@King_Kai_CFC) April 8, 2022
Bru,offsides traps don't make that flop the best goalie over Mendy. If your Kepa was really that good,there was gonna be no need to buy Mendy and make him the number one choice straight ahead of your golden boy.
- :blue_heart:Ally Banks:blue_heart: (@mralibanks) April 8, 2022
He's technically so much better than Mendy, it's just Mendy is insane at actually making saves
- chelsea fan (@CFCBry) April 8, 2022
Another wrote: "That was brilliant tbf."
But others weren't so sure that it was an intentional effort to play offside by Kepa.
"I'm not sure if it's 200 IQ or if he just got lucky. It's a very close to being onside," wrote another fan.
Was it an intentional offside trap by Kepa? Let us know your thoughts.
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Featured Image Credit: Premier League
Topics: Kepa Arrizabalaga, Chelsea, Football, Premier League