Thomas Tuchel has praised Kepa Arrizabalaga for his performance in the penalty shoot-out as he helped Chelsea advance to the fourth round of the Carabao Cup.
The Blues booked a place in the last 16 of the tournament with a 4-3 shoot-out win over Aston Villa at Stamford Bridge.
Kepa saved Marvelous Nakamba's effort from the spot while Ashley Young struck the cross bar.
Reece James delivered the winning spot to save Ben Chilwell's blushes after the England full-back also rattled the woodwork with his effort.
After the match, Tuchel said: 'Kepa is very strong at penalties. He has good experiences in shoot-outs so we focused on that, and tried our best.
'I'm happy the players kept their cool. It's a nice win and I'm happy because it was a tough match, a hard cup fight, and it's a good feeling to win.'
Timo Werner's first goal in 11 Chelsea games broke the deadlock early in the second half.
However, a thumping header from Villa's 19-year-old striker Cameron Archer soon equalised and it remained 1-1 at full-time.
'It was a good game full of energy, good chances on both sides between two teams who tried everything to win,' Tuchel said on the Chelsea website.
'Aston Villa played very strong, like they did 10 days ago, and again today. We also did very good.
'It was a nice game to watch, to be in the stadium for. This is also part of what we do, to have entertainment.
'I'm happy because we won, it was a hard one, and now we have some competitive minutes in more players' legs.'
Tuchel added: 'We had many changes, the team had never played in this formation.
'This needs a bit of time on the field, but it was important we don't expect too much in terms of how we create chances.
'We expected energy and teamwork, and this is what we got out of it, (as) with every minute we got more confident.'
Kepa added another shoot-out success to his UEFA Super Cup final exploits in coming off the bench to edge out Villarreal on spot-kicks in Belfast in August.
Shasparrhash
669
his confidence is now showing and proves how worth he is and why he is a world record goalkeeper πππ # Kepa
Lohit14
553
slowly but surely he is turning his career around
manchiluta
529
Kepa is a good Gk
Famacmnu
511
keep showing your kepabilities . we the blue family love you
UcJagabani
485
Man united fans right nowπππ
Masterdecor
380
Meaning of KEPA K-KEEP E-EVERY P-PENANTY A-AWAY
Anthovagasta
367
Kepa improved because of Mendy.
AnkitDhakal
294
Kepa turning to Chelsea Gatekeeper.....
Futbol_MeSSiah_30
265
De Gea before Kepa on how to stop Penalty
arsohphoh
214
in this match kepa who else???
Nnejipromisepromis
194
KEPA Simply means: K- Keep E- Every P- penalty A- Away Let's show him some love Can he get 10k likes
ChelseaFC_Addict
178
I don't but I have mixed emotions when it comes to Kepa I mean at the same time he looks it he has regained his confidence but the goal he conceded last night just gave me the flashbacks of Liverpool ,man u ,man city ,etc goals he conceded outside the box I know this one was not the same but my worry is the ball was put up there towards the roof of the net and kepa didn't move which is what happens if they shoot from outside the box but let's see. I still don't trust him but I will give it time. Chelsea FC suffered a lot under Kepa
KHMMURU07
172
Rudiger was seen as a liability,Marcos Alonso was basic need,Kante was seen as a hurdles and was seeing Declan Rice as his replacement and Kepa more of hurdling block under Lampard bow they are the rising barrier under Tuchel and not only rising but a very strong mental and physically to. This man Tuchel tactician is surely a class wonder.
Woudmrst
165
Kepa loves saving penalty against any team having villa. like Aston villa and Villarreal
kant23
117
remove your mask kepa we all know that you are caballero