Kepa Arrizabalaga has been in the news following his altercation with Maurizio Sarri on Sunday.
Tottenham Hotspur striker Fernando Llorente has been quoted by Spanish outlet Mundo Deportivo as defending Chelsea goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga for his actions in the Carabao Cup final.
Arrizabalaga complained of cramp and Sarri was ready to replace the Spanish stopper with Willy Caballero just before Sunday’s penalty shootout against Manchester City. Having played at City, perhaps Caballero was also better suited.
But Arrizabalaga refused to leave the field of play, remonstrating with Chelsea boss Sarri from the pitch in what was little more than a tantrum from the world’s most expensive goalkeeper.
Caballero was left to stretch before Sarri stormed down the tunnel. Arrizabalaga failed to stop City who held aloft the trophy, but Spurs star Llorente defended the goalkeeper ahead of Wednesday night’s clash between Chelsea and Spurs.
“Kepa’s thing is something that is not usually seen in football, it showed a lot of personality,” Llorente said. “I think they thought he had physical problems, he warned that he was fine and then he showed that he was fine.”
It remains to be seen if Sarri will offer Kepa a starting spot in Wednesday night’s clash against Llorente’s Tottenham, with the two sides going head to head at Stamford Bridge in the Premier League.
Llorente, though, is likely to start the match on the bench after Harry Kane returned from injury and scored – only for Spurs to suffer a 2-1 defeat to Burnley last time out.
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