Chelsea goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga has spoken about his infamous League Cup clash with Maurizio Sarri.
Back in February 2019, the Blues took on Manchester City in the final at Wembley with the game moving into extra time after a goalless 90 minutes.
Towards the end of the extra 30 minutes, Kepa stayed down after making a save. Sarri responded by summoning Willy Caballero to warm-up and get ready to replace him.
When Kepa’s number appeared on the board, he began shouting towards the bench saying he was fine to continue, refusing to leave the pitch despite being told to do so by teammate David Luiz.
Kepa stood his ground, and a furious Sarri briefly stormed down the tunnel with the game still going. Chelsea went onto lose the shootout with the Spaniard vilified for what he has explained was a ‘misunderstanding.
Kepa wrote for The Player’s Tribune: ‘It was all a big misunderstanding’. ‘Manchester City were dominating the game in extra time and there was barely any time left until penalties. After making a save, I felt something in my leg and I called for the physio to make sure it was nothing. Above all, though, I wanted to make sure that we as a team could catch our breath.
‘Suddenly, I saw that the coach, Maurizio Sarri, had sent Willy Caballero to warm up. He thought I couldn’t go on. My intention, right or wrong, had only been to waste time to help the team. I didn’t have any serious problem that was going to keep me from continuing to play.
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‘I tried to signal that I was O.K., that I wasn’t injured. But we were at Wembley in front of more than 80,000 people, so of course Sarri didn’t understand me. When the fourth official raised the board, clearly I should have come off, and I’m sorry I didn’t.
‘I was wrong, and I am sorry for everyone who was involved: for Maurizio Sarri, who it seemed like I had undermined in public; for Willy, a teammate and a great professional; and for all my teammates and Chelsea fans who had to put up with everything — all the noise that was generated during the game and then in the days after.’
In addition, Kepa explained the situation within the club was quickly resolved, But he said the reaction outside the walls of the club helped create an unfair picture of the whole situation.
‘Inside the club it was no big deal. I had a chat with the boss, we talked about how we had each seen the situation, and we cleared the air. After that I got dropped for one game, but a week later I was back in the team.
‘I remember playing a great game against Fulham, and that was it. A couple of months later we knocked Frankfurt out of the Europa League semifinals and I saved two penalties in the shootout. Internally, everything was fine again. ‘But outside the club, it got out of control.
‘When I picked up my phone in the dressing room after the League Cup final, I realised that I had become worldwide news. For the next three or four days it didn’t stop. It was overwhelming. And clearly, most people who saw the pictures thought that I had disrespected Maurizio.
‘I felt misunderstood, because it had never been my intention to snub the coach. I had only tried to tell him I was O.K.. I tried to explain this to the press, but I couldn’t.
’Luckily, now it is just an anecdote from the past. I still have a fantastic relationship with Maurizio. And next time, in a similar situation, I will know what to do. ‘But it is an example that not everything is what it seems from the outside.’
