Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel has issued his support to Edouard Mendy following his mistake on Wednesday night against Real Madrid. The Blues goalkeeper gave away possession to Karim Benzema, who netted his hat-trick in Los Blancos' victory in the first-leg of the Champions League tie.
"It's life as a goalkeeper on the high level. A goalkeeper is such a special position in football," Tuchel said on Mendy. "Once you play at this high level, you are anyway in the spotlight.
"When you are so successful like Edou, then you're in the spotlight. When you win so many trophies, when you play so many big games like he has, you're even more in the spotlight.
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"He's never been free of mistakes. Last season, maybe, we helped him, we were a bit more lucky. He can solve this situation much, much better - and he knows it.
"It's bad timing in any match to do a mistake like this, as it is in any match, but in a quarter-final against Real Madrid, it's one of the worst moments you can do it because it's so obvious. I hope it does not affect too much his self-confidence because goalkeepers make mistakes.
"Go back and help your team with performances. Re-focus, stay calm and stay confident. This is normally what goalkeepers are made of, what Edou is made of, and now he can go and prove he is a true champion."
It wasn't Mendy's finest moment, there's no doubting that. However, the Senegal international has been pretty much faultless for Chelsea since signing from Rennes in the summer of 2020.
His opposing number on Wednesday, Thibaut Courtois, also issued his support to the goalkeeper. The Real Madrid goalkeeper said: "The problem if you make a bad pass as a goalkeeper is that there's no one behind, they steal the ball and score. He shouldn't be blamed, but a mistake by a goalkeeper is talked about a lot."
