Chelsea's Kepa Arrizabalaga benched for Tottenham match, and Twitter can't stop laughing
Kepa refused to come out of Chelsea's last match, and manager Maurizio Sarri is making him pay Wednesday
Chelsea has a huge match against Tottenham on Wednesday, but a familiar face won't be in the starting XI. Keeper Kepa Arrizabalaga wasn't named a starter by manager Maurizio Sarri, with Willy Caballero taking over for him. You can stream the match on fuboTV (Try for free).
Kepa refused to come off the pitch against Manchester City in the closing stages of extra time in Sunday's Carabao Cup final, which Chelsea would eventually love in penalty kicks. After the match, Kepa seemed remorseful about his insistence to stay in, whereas Sarri said it was a misunderstanding. While Sarri said that the matter was closed, that doesn't appear to be the case.
Naturally, Twitter had some fun with Kepa's benching after his utterly bizarre refusal on Sunday.
Big game tonight at the Bridge. Will be interesting to see what team Kepa puts out.
— Gary Lineker (@GaryLineker) February 27, 2019
*by Kepa Arrizabalaga 😁
— Owlohomora (@Kausvyas10) February 27, 2019
* EDIT: Kepa has named himself on the bench 😅
— Maven (@I_am_Emeka) February 27, 2019
In fact, a lot of people had pretty much the same joke.
Unless he decides he's playing.
— Ray Zinderbar (@RayZinderbar) February 27, 2019
Probably just a misunderstanding. 👍
— Chris Ring (@RingySFC) February 27, 2019
Maybe Kepa dropped himself to focus on managing the game against spurs? #CHETOT
— Kavi Harjani (@KaviHarjani) February 27, 2019
Sprinter Leon Reid, however, gave credit where it's due: The tactical mind of Sarri.
Can’t get off the pitch if he’s never on it pic.twitter.com/c7BOGQQRGh
— Leon Reid. (@LeonReid_Woody) February 27, 2019
The whole situation has been so far beyond bizarre. It's a strange look from Sarri to close the matter and then bench Kepa anyways. There haven't been this many jokes about players running team since earlier this month when LeBron James tried to trade the Lakers.
If Caballero struggles, we may end up seeing Kepa yet. With that being said, Sarri may not want to keep going back and forth in how this situation is handled.
















