Tuchel hails ‘decisive’ Mendy
LONDON: Chelsea goalkeeper Edouard Mendy played a “decisive” role in Saturday’s 1-0 West London derby win over newcomers Brentford, manager Thomas Tuchel said.
Chelsea kept their grip on the Premier League’s top spot thanks to a Ben Chilwell strike in the 45th minute, but they owed their three points as much to goalkeeper Mendy, who pulled off a string of saves to deny Brentford an equaliser.
Mendy denied Saman Ghoddos in the 83rd minute as he rushed off his line to close down the angle, and the Frenchman turned over an acrobatic overhead effort by Christian Norgaard in injury time.
“Ed was absolutely decisive to escape with a clean sheet,” Tuchel told reporters.
“He was very strong and very concentrated in the build-up play. Very good performance and of course the last 20 minutes, the match turned into a cup game.
“They took a lot of risks and put a lot of bodies into our box. We could not keep them away from shooting and having the big chances.”
Goalscorer Chilwell also praised Mendy, who joined Chelsea in September 2020.
“I don’t know how many saves he made, but there were a lot of very important saves and he does it every week for us,” Chilwell told the Chelsea website.
“He bails us out, whether it’s once or twice, or in this game on several occasions. He’s a world-class goalkeeper and is the one we’ve got to thank.”
SALAH ‘BEST IN THE WORLD’
Juergen Klopp hailed Mohamed Salah as the best player in the world after the Liverpool forward scored another sublime goal in Saturday’s 5-0 demolition of Watford.
Salah underlined why Liverpool are so desperate to get the Egypt forward to sign a new contract with his audacious second-half strike at Vicarage Road.
Dancing through the Watford defence, Salah’s magical moment topped even his eye-catching goal against Manchester City before the international break.
Liverpool’s habit of avoiding big contracts for players over 30 has fuelled fears the 29-year-old will leave when his present deal expires in 2023.
But with 10 goals in 10 games this season, Salah has proved his huge value to Liverpool, who will surely bow to his wish to be paid alongside the Premier League’s highest earners.
For the first time in his career, Salah has scored in eight successive top-flight matches and Liverpool boss Klopp has no doubts he is now better than even Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
“We don’t have to talk about what Ronaldo and Messi did for world
football and how they were really dominant,” Klopp said. “But in this moment it is clear that there is no one better than him. It was a super pass for the first goal and his goal was absolutely exceptional.”
Salah’s breathtaking goal stole the spotlight on a day when Roberto Firmino claimed his first Liverpool hattrick since 2018 in his first start for five league games.
It was also a memorable afternoon for Senegal forward Sadio Mane, who became only the third African player after Salah and Didier Drogba to reach a century of Premier League goals, a milestone encompassing his time at Southampton.