Football

Chelsea's Kepa Arrizabalaga costs Spain victory as Man Utd's David De Gea left warming bench


Kepa Arrizabalaga cost Spain victory over Norway after committing a needless foul on captain Omar Elabdellaoui in the 92nd minute of their European Championship qualifying match.

The Chelsea stopper flew off his line to punch away a chipped through ball for the winger, however Elabdellaoui beat Spain’s new No.1 to the ball before getting clattered.

Referee Michael Oliver didn’t hesitate to give the penalty to the visiting Norwegians, a penalty that was put away by Bournemouth’s Josh King.

Kepa’s last-minute mistake against Norway comes a mere month after replacing Manchester United’s David De Gea was dropped as the country’s first choice goalkeeper.

Kepa’s misjudgement cost Spain the game against Norway

A couple of months ago La Roja boss Robert Moreno announced that 28-year-old was no longer guaranteed a starter for his country stating “the competition is now on”.

De Gea had been Spain’s uncontested No.1 since World Cup winning Iker Casillas retired from international football.

With the Red Devils star making 39 senior appearances for his country.

De Gea (left) was replaced by Kepa as Spain’s No.1

However, under Moreno, De Gea has struggled to maintain his streak between the sticks for Spain.

Since taking over permanently from Luis Enrique this summer, Moreno has opted for Kepa over De Gea including in each of the last three games in the Euro qualifiers.

25-year-old Kepa has seven caps for his country on the senior stage, and displaced his Premier League rival from his spot in four games for Spain, with De Gea playing twice.

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Kepa got the nod over De Gea during the draw with Norway on Saturday night, a decision that might be regretted by Moreno, however seems to prefer Kepa in the more pertinent matches.

De Gea’s last appearance for Spain came against Faroe Islands in September at Real Gijon’s El Molinon Stadium.





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