Kepa was the man chosen to face the media today ahead of Chelsea’s Champions League clash with Valencia, perhaps naturally given that he’s a native speaker who was able to speak in his native tongue to the assembled journalists.
The goalkeeper was asked a few interesting things, including some probing questions about the differences playing for Frank Lampard this season to playing with Maurizio Sarri last. Kepa was the key man in the infamous incident last year that saw the goalkeeper refuse to be subbed off in the Carabao Cup final, so it’s perhaps no surprise he chose to keep his answer purely tactical. You can see his response quoted by the club’s Twitter account here:
Kepa is first asked about how our style has changed this season. ‘We are a bit more direct, more end-to-end and there is more energy in our play because we go for the opposition goal as soon as possible.’#CHEVCF
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) September 16, 2019
You could take it as a slight did against Sarri’s low energy style, but it’s pretty indisputable. There’s a marked difference, and the scorelines show it. Kepa has yet to keep a clean sheet this season, and he might be missing some of those low energy games at the moment.
