17 April 2023 , 17:46
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Kepa Arrizabalaga is convinced Chelsea can still pull off a miracle at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea have enjoyed some memorable Champions League nights in the past when they have overturned first leg defeats.
Back in 2014, they beat Paris Saint Germain 2-0 to send the French club crashing out on away goals and in 2012 they overcame a first leg defeat in Napoli on their way to winning the trophy.
They need an even bigger result this time as they are trailing 14 time winners Real Madrid 2-0 from last week’s first leg in the Bernabeu.
And Chelsea find themselves in a state of crisis in a disastrous campaign. But Chelsea keeper Kepa believes they can turn it round as he slipped into his native tongue to say they need a remontada, the Spanish word for fight back.
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Kepa said: “I don’t know about lacking confidence. Maybe we are not in our best shape. It is not a good season for us. What we have to do is believe until the end.
“But in this stadium, remontadas can happen. It’s happened before. We have to deliver.
“We must do our best and do the right things, we need a big performance – not the best of our lives maybe, but a big performance.
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Kepa Arrizabalaga has explained how Chelsea can topple Real Madrid"We cannot overthink things. We have to take it step by step. We have to defend well, attack well. It is a big part of the season, looking where we are.”
Chelsea were in a similar state when they overcame Napoli as Andre Villas Boas had been sacked, Roberto Di Matteo was caretaker and then led them to their first European Cup with Frank Lampard captaining the team in the final.
They now find themselves in the bottom half of the Premier League table, they have managed just one goal in their last five games and are without a win in their last six matches.
Caretaker boss Lampard is on something of a hiding to nothing and new owner Todd Boehly has become the target of the fans’ frustrations as the US tycoon has spent £600m on 17 new players in the last two windows but the club looks like a rudderless ship.
Boehly took stick from fed-up fans during Saturday’s defeat to Brighton and then went into the dressing room - along with fellow board members Behdad Eghbali and Hansjörg Wyss - after the game in what has become a post-match ritual.
Kepa insists the players do not mind the owner coming into the dressing room but says the players are desperate to turn the club’s fortunes around.
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Kepa said: “Hopefully tomorrow we can involve all the fans, all of Stamford Bridge, deliver our best and make a different atmosphere that we need to go through. It is not going to be easy. We have to go step by step and do the right thing in the beginning and push as much as we can.
“The other thing, Todd comes to the changing room in every game. He had different chats with us after different games. I am not going to say what he sad. It is normal when he came.”
Edouard Mendy has barely featured in recent months after Kepa regained the number one spotKepa lost his status as Chelsea’s No1 during Lampard’s first spell in charge but is now starting ahead of fit-again Edouard Mendy. It has rarely been a straightforward journey for Kepa and this season has been a rollercoaster but he believes he is justifying his place.
Kepa added: “I think it is a positive season for me personally. I think the last two seasons I played 15 games per season. This season I am playing more. I am feeling good, I am feeling confident. I am enjoying it on the pitch. The season in general is not the best one but personally I think I am happy with my season.
“What I can say is the atmosphere in the changing room, we are not happy, but the atmosphere is good. There is no fighting, nothing like this. We are trying to find a way to win the games. We had a lot of changes. We know that. We know the situation.”