https://www.chelseafc.com/en/news/2021/12/22/
kepa-on-confidence-and-his-carabao-cup-quest
Kepa on confidence and his Carabao Cup quest
22 Dec 2021
Kepa has been the hero of our Carabao Cup campaign thus far and tonight he
is hoping to help the Blues navigate another hurdle in the competition
when we take on Brentford.
https://i.imgur.com/V6Rplil.jpg
Against both Aston Villa in round three and Southampton in round four,
Kepa made decisive penalty saves in the shoot-out that settled a pair of
keenly fought 1-1 draws.
It is testament to the goalkeeper's dedication and desire that he has
continued to play such an important role this season despite being the
club's back-up keeper – don't forget his two stops in the Super Cup
shoot-out – and Kepa has explained why he has been able to maintain such
high standards.
'It's not easy to step on the pitch and feel like you are playing every
week, but I feel like this,' he said.
'It's important to help the team and be calm, and be happy with your
performance. Those are the most important things for me. You know I am not
playing a lot, so the opportunities I have, I want to take.
https://i.imgur.com/YBOSqmv.jpg
Kepa has made more penalty shoot-out saves than any Chelsea keeper (eight)
'I have liked penalties since I was young,' the 27-year-old added. 'I won
many penalty shoot-outs when I was playing academy football, and now
during my professional career. I train for them, but you need a mix of
things: a bit of luck, a bit of training, a bit of mental strength.
'I feel good in these situations, and I'm happy when we arrive to
penalties. Hopefully we can keep like this and keep winning penalty
shoot-outs.'
For what it's worth, Brentford have won their past two shoot-outs, so if
the game does end in a draw tonight two successful spot-kick sides will be
going face to face. In the regulation 90 minutes Kepa expects a similarly
tricky test to the one we faced in the league at the Brentford Community
Stadium. He believes we will require 'our best performance' to advance to
the semi-finals.
Since arriving in England in 2018, domestic silverware has so far eluded
the Spaniard. He made shoot-out saves in the Carabao Cup semi-final and
final in his first season but with nothing to show for it, and our three
cup final losses in recent years only fuel his desire to go one better.
'The Carabao Cup is one trophy I don't have, so I want it. It's simple.
This club has a big trophy mentality. We want to win every single trophy.
https://i.imgur.com/BGVXV1U.jpg
'Losing the final in 2019 gives me more motivation. I came here to win
trophies. We have won important trophies in the last seasons, but we
didn't this one.
'The Carabao Cup is a good way to have a trophy early in the season. Right
now, it's so difficult to win trophies, whichever one, so we cannot lose
our focus, but we will push each other to arrive in the final and try to
win it.'