Thomas Tuchel explained his extra-time goalkeeper substitution was based on statistical data, not spontaneity, with Kepa Arrizabalaga making two shoot-out saves to win the Super Cup for Chelsea.

Gerard Moreno's second-half strike cancelled out Hakim Ziyech's opener at Windsor Park and, with penalties looming, Tuchel sent on Kepa for Edouard Mendy in the closing minutes.

The Spain goalkeeper denied both Aissa Mandi and Raul Albiol in the shoot-out, ensuring a 6-5 penalties win for Chelsea after a 1-1 draw to secure their second Super Cup.

Speaking to BT Sport after the game, Tuchel explained his decision to bring on Kepa was pre-discussed and based on data introduced to him by his analysts and goalkeeping coaches.

"It was not spontaneous," Tuchel responded when asked about the extra-time change. "We talked about it with the goalkeepers after the first cup game against Barnsley. We had some statistics. We were well prepared."

"Kepa has the best percentage at saving penalties. We spoke to the players that this could happen when we play in knockout games. It's fantastic how Edouard [Mendy] accepted it.

"There is proof that Kepa is better in this discipline. They're team players. Edouard does not show the pride to not step off the field. He was happy to do it for the team and take this for the team."

It was a strange reversal of roles for the former Athletic Bilbao man – the world's most expensive goalkeeper – who in the 2019 EFL Cup final refused to go off when then-Chelsea boss Maurizio Sarri attempted to bring on Willy Caballero. Chelsea went on to lose on penalties to Manchester City.

However, Kepa's heroics in Belfast banished any potential Super Cup demons for Chelsea, who picked up their first triumph since 1998, having lost to Atletico Madrid in 2012 and suffered shoot-out heartbreak against both Bayern Munich and Liverpool in 2013 and 2019.

Wednesday's win also ensured Tuchel, the third German coach in a row to lift the Super Cup after Jurgen Klopp and Hansi Flick, maintained his perfect record against Spanish opposition, winning four and drawing five of nine games.

It was not all good news after Chelsea's win, however, with Hakim Ziyech's shoulder injury marring another memorable European outing for Tuchel's men.

Ziyech did return to the stands in the second half with his arm in a sling, though Tuchel conceded "if you take a player out during the first half it's serious."

Chelsea will await news on the extent of Ziyech's injury while their attention now turns to hosting Crystal Palace in their Premier League opener on Saturday.

Kepa Arrizabalaga and Edouard Mendy credited one another after the former was introduced in extra-time and produced shoot-out heroics to ensure Chelsea's first Super Cup win since 1998.

Penalties were required after Gerard Moreno cancelled out Hakim Ziyech's opener and, in the closing minutes of extra-time, Thomas Tuchel sent on Kepa at Windsor Park.

The Spanish goalkeeper stepped up to the plate, denying both Aissa Mandi and Raul Albiol, to secure a 6-5 shoot-out victory and Chelsea's second Super Cup success at the fifth time of asking.

While Tuchel hailed his analysts and backroom staff for the decision based on statistics after the game, the two goalkeepers rejoiced together when speaking to BT Sport.

"It's not a typical situation but we arrived to penalties after Edouard did a fantastic job," Kepa said. "Finally we won and we are so happy.

"I was ready because I knew this could happen. I tried to be ready mentally and physically."

Kepa, who had been pre-warned that this could be the case should the final go to penalties, is simply statistically better at saving penalties according to Tuchel, hence why the decision was made.

Mendy's saves against Boulaye Dia and Gerard Moreno kept Chelsea in front and, despite conceding later on and being removed with minutes to go, he also echoed similar sentiments stood alongside his fellow goalkeeper.

"I'm happy because we won," the former Rennes man added. "I knew since last year that if Kepa came on the pitch he would help the team.

"It's a team effort. We play for Chelsea and for success. We did this today together."

While the pair enjoyed the collective effort that secured the win, it was not all positive news for Chelsea, who lost Hakim Ziyech to a shoulder injury in the first half.

The Moroccan playmaker returned to the stands before the second half with his arm in a sling and Chelsea now await an update as they prepare for their Premier League opener against Crystal Palace on August 14.

Kepa Arrizabalaga was the hero as Chelsea secured their first Super Cup triumph since 1998, running out 6-5 winners in a penalty shoot-out against Villarreal following a 1-1 draw in Belfast.

Hakim Ziyech opened the scoring after good work down the left flank from Kai Havertz before the former Ajax man's shoulder injury marred an entertaining first half.

Alberto Moreno and Gerard Moreno both hit the woodwork either side of half-time, though the latter restored parity with a fine finish to send the final to extra time.

Kepa, who was brought on in the closing minutes solely for penalties, denied both Aissa Mandi and Raul Albiol to make sure Chelsea came out on top.

The Champions League holders had started proceedings impressively too, Timo Werner forcing the first save as Sergio Asenjo had to react quickly to parry away a close-range effort from Havertz's inswinging corner.

Asenjo, though, was no match for Ziyech's sweeping finish after Havertz found space on the left and drilled towards his team-mate near the penalty spot.

Ziyech's injury, suffered while defending a set-piece situation, offered Thomas Tuchel a reason to be concerned, with Alberto Moreno then smashing an effort onto the crossbar.

Gerard Moreno was also denied in similar circumstances after the break, capitalising on Edouard Mendy's wayward clearance before seeing his low strike smack the post.

However, the Villarreal forward quickly made amends, exchanging a one-two with Boulaye Dia before lifting over Mendy for his 23rd goal of 2021, ranking him fifth across Europe's top-five leagues.

Both Christian Pulisic and Mason Mount could not find extra-time winners and, with a shoot-out in sight, Tuchel sent on Kepa.

Opposite number Asenjo drew first blood with a stop against Havertz, but that advantage faded away when Kepa saved for the first time.

With no further misses between the other eight takers, sudden death kicks were necessary. After Antonio Rudiger rolled in his attempt, Kepa guessed the right way to deny Villarreal captain Albiol.

Chelsea's goalscorer Hakim Ziyech was forced off with a shoulder injury during the Super Cup contest with Villarreal, causing Thomas Tuchel reason for concern ahead of their Premier League opener.

The former Ajax man had opened the scoring for the Blues in Belfast when he tucked in from Kai Havertz's cross in the 27th minute – Chelsea having dominated proceedings up until that point.

Ziyech, who scored twice in 23 Premier League appearances last season, had also created a game-leading four chances before he went down clutching his right shoulder in the 39th minute after helping to defend a Villarreal corner. 

Chelsea's medical team rushed on to tend to the Morocco playmaker, providing him with an inhaler before Christian Pulisic was introduced in his place.

While the extent of his injury remains unclear at this moment, Tuchel would seem likely to be without Ziyech, who had to use his shirt as a makeshift sling as he walked off, for Chelsea's meeting with Crystal Palace on Saturday.

Ziyech returned from the dressing room with his arm in a sling as he took his spot behind the Chelsea bench for the second half. Villarreal's Alberto Moreno had struck the crossbar just before half-time, with the Blues still leading 1-0.

Tammy Abraham could be involved for Chelsea in the Super Cup on Wednesday, but Thomas Tuchel has revealed how the striker's future is constantly evaluated amid links with a move elsewhere.

After scoring 15 Premier League goals for the Blues in the 2020-21 season when Frank Lampard was in charge, Abraham saw his opportunities diminish under Tuchel last term.

The 23-year-old started only three league fixtures following the appointment of Tuchel in late January, while he did not feature at all in the knockout stages of the Champions League as Chelsea went on to lift the trophy in Porto.

His lack of minutes has led to speculation of a switch away from Stamford Bridge before the transfer window closes, with Jose Mourinho's Roma reportedly interested. There have been links to Arsenal and while the forward may feature for his current employers against Villarreal on Wednesday, his situation could be subject to change.

"Tammy is, right now, in the squad. He did some good preparation matches," Tuchel told reporters ahead of the fixture against the Europa League holders in Belfast.

"He was clearly not happy with the last half-a-year, maybe he has reasons not to be happy and maybe it was my fault, not to push him, not to trust him on the same level I maybe did with other players.

"I can absolutely understand he wants more minutes, so the decision will be how do we plan, what are his plans, does he fight his way back into the team from where he ended last season or does he want to change the club to have a better chance of being a regular starter, which I can absolutely understand.

"This is quite a normal situation in preparation until the transfer window closes. He is one of these players where we constantly evaluate the situation and adapt.

"But for tomorrow there is no need. He is available for training today, available for the starting XI or to come off the bench."

While Olivier Giroud has departed to Milan, opportunities for Abraham could remain scarce if Chelsea, as expected, bring Romelu Lukaku back to the club.

The Belgium international is set to join from Inter, adding further depth to an attacking unit that also includes Timo Werner.

Tuchel also utilised Kai Havertz in a central attacking role last season at times, with Abraham not even on the bench for the Champions League final win over Manchester City.

Thomas Tuchel refused to speak about the potential signing of Romelu Lukaku ahead of Chelsea's Super Cup final against Villarreal on Wednesday.

The reigning European champions have repeatedly been linked with the Belgium forward, with a deal reported to be in place for a club-record £97.5 million fee.

Despite Lukaku's return to Stamford Bridge appearing imminent, Tuchel instead chose to focus on his own squad and insisted he would not discuss potential transfer news.

"I'm absolutely not in a position to announce anything," the Blues manager said in Tuesday's news conference. "I will maybe refuse to talk about it, because it's a matchday -1 press conference ahead of a final. It's clearly not the moment for personal discussions of our squad.

"I have a lot of trust in our existing squad, we have proved already that we can be a strong side. I talked many times that we discussed our ideas over how to improve the squad, which is not easy."

With Olivier Giroud, who netted five times in Chelsea's Champions League-winning campaign, departing for Milan, Tuchel did admit his squad is missing a "certain profile" of forward.

Lukaku appears to perfectly fit the job description, having fired in 24 goals from 36 appearances as Inter collected their first Scudetto since their 2009-10 title win.

"We need to wait and see what's possible and not possible," the former Paris Saint-Germain head coach continued. "We are not panicking, we are happy to work with this team and arrive with the team tomorrow.

"Today there is nothing to announce. It will always stay like this: I will not talk about it until the moment we have something to be announced."

Antonio Rudiger, whose imperious Champions League final performance helped secure victory over Manchester City, praised Lukaku's attributes.

"You can obviously see from the body type that he [Romelu Lukaku] is a beast, someone who is very strong and I think he has shown that in Italy for the past two years," the centre-back explained in Tuesday's pre-final news conference.

"He did very well over there and also for his national team. He is a goalscorer, for me, a top striker."

Chelsea's Premier League rivals have enjoyed productive transfer windows in comparison to the Blues, with the likes of Jack Grealish, Jadon Sancho and Ben White all moving to fellow challengers.

But Tuchel insisted his own players, such as Timo Werner, Kai Havertz and Hakim Ziyech, will prosper in their second seasons as they continue to adapt to English top-flight football.

"I always said that we will be happy with the same group again, if we start the next season with it I'd be a happy coach," Tuchel added.

"We always try to improve the squad from outside, but at the same time we believe in the development of our players.

"Other clubs have signed heavily, which is their right, and it's good for the league and a huge challenge to compete with them.

"But, in the end, football is a team sport and we have a strong squad with belief, one that we will keep on pushing. We are in discussions with the board, but it's not hectic - no stress."

Hansi Flick announced on Saturday that he intends to step down as Bayern Munich boss at the end of the campaign, bringing an end to an illustrious spell in charge of the club.

The 56-year-old succeeded Niko Kovac in November 2019, having previously worked as assistant, and has led the German giants to six major trophies in that time.

Bayern won the Bundesliga, DFB-Pokal and Champions League in 2019-20 and have followed that up with the DFL-Supercup, UEFA Supercup and Club World Cup this season.

Another Bundesliga crown could follow with Bayern seven points clear at the top with five games to go, which would be a fitting way to bring down the curtain on Flick's tenure.

Using Opta data, we look at the extraordinary numbers behind Flick's spell in charge and the players who have played a key part in Bayern's recent success.


AS MANY TROPHIES AS DEFEATS

Flick's shock revelation that he hopes to have his contract terminated came on the back of Bayern's 3-2 win at Wolfsburg on Saturday.

That was the German's 81st game in charge in all competitions, comprised of 67 victories, eight draws and six losses.

Incredibly, that means Flick has won as many trophies - six - as he has suffered defeats in his 17-month tenure. That also equates to one trophy every 14 matches.

NUMEROUS RECORDS SET

Bayern were as dominant as any club in European history en route to winning a treble last season, form that they would carry into the 2020-21 campaign.

The Bavarian giants won 23 matches in a row in all competitions between February 16, 2020 and September 18 that year - a record in German professional football.

With their victory over Paris Saint-Germain in the final, meanwhile, they became the first side in European/Champions League history to lift the trophy with a 100-per-cent win record.


BUT FLICK TRAILS GUARDIOLA

Flick's 83-per-cent win rate is another record among Bayern bosses, as is the average of 3.0 goals per game his side have scored under his watch.

However, the former Germany assistant trails one of his predecessors in Pep Guardiola when it comes to points per game accrued in the Bundesliga.

Guardiola collected 2.52 points per game across his 102 matches, whereas Flick is currently on 2.49 after 53 matches, though that could change before he eventually departs.

LEWA LEADS THE WAY

In the Bundesliga alone, Manuel Neuer has played more games for Bayern (52) than anyone else since Flick initially took charge on an interim basis on November 3, 2019.

Thomas Muller and David Alaba, the latter of whom will also depart the Allianz Arena in June, are next on the list with 50 league appearances.

Robert Lewandowski is next with 46 outings and the striker has been Bayern's top performer over that period in terms of goal involvements.

The Poland international has a combined 65 goals and assists, followed by Muller with 52 and Serge Gnabry with 27.

Lewandowski has 55 Bundesliga goals in total under Flick, while Muller leads the assists metric with 34, 20 more than next-best Joshua Kimmich.

Diego Simeone has overtaken Luis Aragones for the most wins ever as head coach of Atletico Madrid.

The Argentine coach picked up his 309th victory in charge in Wednesday's 2-1 comeback win against Athletic Bilbao - a result that moves Atleti six points clear at the top of LaLiga.

Iker Munian had given Athletic the lead at the Wanda Metropolitano, but Marcos Llorente equalised late in the first half and Luis Suarez converted a penalty early in the second.

Simeone's latest win came in his 514th match in charge. Aragones, the only other man to have taken charge of more games, reached 308 wins in 612 matches.

Atleti have drawn 121 times and lost 84 games under Simeone, who took over in December 2011 and has gone on to be their most successful manager of all time.

#OnThisDay in 2011, @Simeone took over.

499 games
300 wins
LaLiga
Europa League
UEFA Super Cup
Copa del Rey
Spanish Super Cup

#AúpaAtleti pic.twitter.com/6U8bdMUwX2

— Atlético de Madrid (@atletienglish) December 23, 2020 TROPHIES

Aragones, a star for Atletico as a player, won six trophies as head coach. Simeone, with seven, is the only man with more.

In a little over nine years in charge, the former Argentina midfielder has led Atletico to two UEFA Super Cups, two Europa Leagues, one Supercopa de Espana, one Copa del Rey and, most famously, their only LaLiga title in the past 25 years back in 2013-14.

Simeone has helped to tip the balance of power somewhat in Spain's capital. He is the only coach to have won three finals against Real Madrid in three different competitions: the Copa del Rey (2013), the Supercopa de Espana (2014) and the UEFA Super Cup (2018).

He has twice faced them in the Champions League final, too, losing after extra time in 2014 and on penalties two years later.


TRAILBLAZING

Among South American coaches, only Helenio Herrera (359) has taken charge of more LaLiga matches than Simeone (353).

All of those have been with Atletico, of course. There are just two coaches to oversee more LaLiga games at a single club: Aragones at Atletico (407) and Miguel Munoz at Real Madrid (424).

Munoz won 357 of his 605 games in charge of Los Blancos in all competitions, so Simeone has a little way to go to surpass that tally. Still, he has already won more games than Barcelona record-holder Johan Cruyff, who won 244 times out of 421 matches.

TITANS

Antoine Griezmann is the player to score the most goals under Simeone at Atletico, with 133 in all competitions.

The rest of the top five includes Diego Costa (75), Radamel Falcao (58), Koke (44) and Saul Niguez (43).

Koke leads the way for assists, with 95, comfortably clear of Griezmann (46), Gabi (44), Angel Correa (43) and Juanfran (32).

Diego Simeone earned a place in the Atletico Madrid history books with Sunday's win over Villarreal.

The Argentine coach enjoyed his 308th victory in charge of the club in Atletico's 2-0 LaLiga triumph.

An own goal from Alfonso Pedraza and a fine strike from Joao Felix secured the win, sending Atletico five points clear at the top of the table.

In so doing, Simeone matched the esteemed Luis Aragones as the Atletico head coach with the highest number of victories in all competitions.

Simeone's latest win came in his 512th match in charge. Aragones, the only man to take charge of more games, reached 308 wins in 612 matches at a rate of 50.3 per cent.

Atletico have drawn 120 times and lost only 84 games under Simeone, who took over on December 23 in 2011 and has since become the club's most successful coach.

TROPHIES

Aragones, a star for Atletico as a player, also won six trophies as head coach. Simeone, with seven, is the only man with more.

In a little over nine years in charge, the former Argentina midfielder has led Atletico to two UEFA Super Cups, two Europa Leagues, one Supercopa de Espana, one Copa del Rey and, most famously, their only LaLiga title in the past 25 years back in 2013-14.

Simeone has helped to tip the balance of power somewhat in Spain's capital. He is the only coach to have won three finals against Real Madrid in three different competitions: the Copa del Rey (2013), the Supercopa de Espana (2014) and the UEFA Super Cup (2018).

He has twice faced them in the Champions League final, too, losing after extra time in 2014 and on penalties two years later.

 

TRAILBLAZING

Among South American coaches, only Helenio Herrera (359) has taken charge of more LaLiga matches than Simeone (351).

All of those have been with Atletico, of course. There are just two coaches to oversee more LaLiga games at a single club: Aragones at Atletico (407) and Miguel Munoz at Real Madrid (424).

Munoz won 357 of his 605 games in charge of Los Blancos in all competitions, so Simeone has a little way to go to surpass that tally. Still, he has already won more games than Barcelona record-holder Johan Cruyff, who won 244 times out of 421 matches.

 

TITANS

Antoine Griezmann is the player to score the most goals under Simeone at Atletico, with 133 in all competitions.

The rest of the top five includes Diego Costa (75), Radamel Falcao (58), Koke (44) and Saul Niguez (43).

Koke leads the way for assists, with 95, comfortably clear of Griezmann (46), Gabi (44), Angel Correa (43) and Juanfran (32).

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