"I hope it does not bother him, because it does not bother me too much. And it's more important that he performs like this than that he's on any list. The only surprise it seems, from both inside and outside the Chelsea camp external-link, is that Mendy was not one of the five Blues players to be included on the 30-man list for the prestigious Ballon d'Or.Īsked if his keeper merited inclusion after playing a starring role in the October's win at Brentford, Tuchel replied: "Yes. Premier League goalkeepers with the best save percentages (2021-22)Īnd he is also well ahead of Real Madrid's Thibaut Courtois (71%), Paris St-Germain's Gianluigi Donnarumma (69%) and Atletico Madrid's Jan Oblak (54%). The 29-year-old has a higher save percentage domestically than Bayern Munich and Germany great Manuel Neuer (70%). How does he compare with Europe's best?Īs well as being the Premier League's in-form goalkeeper, Mendy's impressive statistics compare favourably with the most celebrated number ones in European football. He has control of his box."įellow pundit Rio Ferdinand calls Mendy external-link a goalkeeper who "instils confidence in a backline", while former Chelsea forward Tony Cascarino says he is one of the club's "best-ever signings". You can see him growing in every part of his game. "All the areas where there were questions, he is answering. He has been more reticent about coming out but he has good people there working with him from Petr Cech down and he has improved with his feet. He certainly had some decision making issues at the start. "As a shot-stopper he is brilliant, his reactions are good and he is incredibly brave. "He is also in same boat as everyone else because Kepa has improved so he will be aware that he has to be on top of his game. The manner in which Mendy reprimanded team-mate Hakim Ziyech in Chelsea's recent Champions League victory at Malmo - for allowing an opponent the space to create an opportunity - underlined his commanding presence.įormer Chelsea and Scotland winger Pat Nevin, a BBC Radio 5 Live pundit, said: "There have been very few times he has had to do it but he is growing in stature. "It's a lot more difficult to score against Chelsea, not just because of the change to the back five, which Tuchel brought in, but also the goalkeeper." If you think of Kepa in goal for Chelsea when Frank was there, it was a big problem - they were conceding too many goals. Speaking on Sky Sports, former Manchester United defender and pundit Gary Neville said: "If you're going to win a title, there are going to be games where you don't play well, you don't deserve to win the game but your goalkeeper makes two or three world-class saves. He has managed 25 clean sheets in all competitions since the start of 2021, a figure which is higher than the number of goals he has conceded (24) in the same period.Īnd it is easy to see why his impact has been compared with those of Alisson at Liverpool and Ederson at Manchester City, with both arriving in England and helping their clubs to Premier League titles. Mendy has kept nine clean sheets in all competitions so far this season and made a number of pivotal saves to ensure Thomas Tuchel's Chelsea sit top of the Premier League with the division's best defensive record. So how did Mendy go from consecutive relegations and several months of unemployment earlier in his career to a position where he is now, perhaps, the best goalkeeper in the world? Mean Mendy setting the standard But a little more than 12 months on, Mendy has a Champions League winners medal and is the man behind the Premier League's meanest defence.Īnd his form has even earned him a major upgrade external-link in the latest ratings update on Fifa22.
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