What a week it’s been for Mike Penders. Full of ups and downs, but the Chelsea keeper finished with confidence.
A spell in the first team awaited Penders after the 21-year-old was thrown straight into the deep at Hill Dickinson Stadium on October 17 due to Emiliano Martinez’s broken jaw. In his first proper week as Chelsea’s big star, all three fixtures have given them plenty for different reasons.
The first was Tottenham’s little matter at Stamford Bridge. Penders, ironically, was one of the standout performers for the Blues until the tragic moment of the second half when he curled a corner into the back of his own net for the game’s opening goal. Spurs doubled their lead in a 2-0 win at SW6, but Penders’ moment was an undeniable turning point.
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It was the Belgian international’s Premier League debut – a memorable evening for the goalkeeper for several reasons. After the game, Xabi Alonso was asked how he would try to pick up such a young player after such a terrible moment.
It’s admirable that Alonso got behind Penders: “We win, we lose together and that’s part of my job, to recover from my mistakes, both with myself and with everyone, so we support Mike and we support the rest of the team.
“He’s going to learn from it and we’re going to want to prove he can do better and we’ve got to show we can do better.”
Alonso urged Penders to show his mentality and bounce back from his own goal – and he did so with poise in the days that followed. A trip to Anfield followed, and while it was “only” the Carabao Cup – ask Alonso about the importance of that competition – it’s still a tough ask for such a young player in one of the country’s most feared stadiums.
Penders was outstanding for the Blues despite being on the losing side at Liverpool. The pick of the bunch in terms of saves from the former Genk keeper was a superb second-half stop to deny Bradley Barcola’s shot from the edge of the box.
He then produced a moment of perfection in the penalty shootout to deny Ryan Gravenberth from 12 yards. Penders would have been the hero if Emmanuel Emegha could have held his nerve, but the Dutch forward saw his effort saved by Giorgi Mamardashvili.
Despite the pain of losing in the Pens, Penders can hold his head high for his efforts at Anfield and take a boost of confidence heading into Saturday afternoon’s Premier League clash with Manchester United.
It was Penders’ first return to the scene of the crime – in the form of an own goal against Tottenham – at Stamford Bridge. However, the Belgian looked more confident than ever.
He made a couple of smart stops to keep United at bay, but it was his late save to deny Bryan Mbeumo’s thunderous strike from distance towards the end of the match that went viral. Mbeumo couldn’t have hit the ball any better and it was moving forward with some speed before Penders tiptoed the crossbar.
It is no exaggeration to say that he is a contender for saving the season, even at the start of the new campaign.
Alonso was pleased with Penders’ performance and how he responded to the setback against Tottenham a week ago. The Blues manager said: “Not just today, I think at Liverpool he was really solid, he performed really well, he was very consistent for a goalkeeper and he showed a good level today.
“Another clean sheet, second in three games and we’ve got to go on. Mike got through the tough time we had here last Saturday and that’s part of any player’s goalkeeper development.”
After Penders’ blunder against Spurs, some Chelsea fans were counting down the days until Martinez recovered from his injury, although we haven’t been given an official time. Sources close to Chelsea said the Argentine goalkeeper could return sooner than previously planned, but that would mean wearing a protective mask.
Penders’ last two appearances have shown Chelsea don’t need to rush Martinez back from a broken jaw. Instead, the Blues could – if they wanted to – let the 34-year-old heal naturally before re-integrating him into the squad.