Chelsea goalkeeper Edouard Mendy: It’s been a fantastic year

Chelsea fans endured a roller-coaster season last time around. After struggling to reach their potential under previous manager Frank Lampard, the Blues fans saw their team transform into title contenders in the second half of the campaign under new manager Thomas Tuchel. Their fantastic second half of the season ended with a Champion League title. The Blues defeated Manchester City in the final to lift the famous European trophy. Chelsea’s goalkeeper Edouard Mendy played a massive role in the team’s success last time around. It’s been a year since he moved to Stamford Bridge and he quickly established himself as first choice between the posts. The Senegalese goalkeeper continuously impressed with his dominance of the box and shot-stopping ability.

After starting the 2021/22 league campaign with another shutout, he now has an astonishing 26 clean sheets in 46 Chelsea appearances. It is the best ratio (57 per cent) of any Blues keeper to have played more than 20 times for the club. In an interview, Edouard Mendy reflected on the Blues’ solidity at the back and assessed his own development since arriving at Stamford Bridge. “It’s been a fantastic year,” he was quoted as saying by the club’s website.

‘I’ve progressed every year’

“Now, we need to keep going. We need to question everything; we need to start from scratch. What we did was good, but we need to leave that to one side and keep setting other goals, keep progressing, and keep striving to make this club better. For me the most important thing is to be the best for my team,” says Mendy of his own ambition.

“Being the best for my club means being the best every day and being the best I can on the pitch, helping my team to win trophies. I’ve progressed every year, and I did last year too, and that’s something I want to do every year; it’s something I want all the time. I strive to progress, to be the best for my team, and in particular, to keep winning trophies for this club.”

Edouard Mendy on Thomas Tuchel and team’s unity

Mendy then went on to stress the importance of defending as a team. “The defence works as a team. It is not just down to me or the defenders in front of me. It is defensive teamwork that starts with the strikers and finishes with me. We see very well when we press that we are very active when we recover very high balls. And, when the opponent has possession, we see that we are a difficult block to get through because the whole line moves very well and it’s very difficult to get through our block.”

Mendy was also quick to praise his manager Thomas Tuchel, saying, “He is a real leader.” He added, “The idea of a group is something that the coach has directly established. It is something that got stronger with good results. We saw that when we gave great performances.

“Every time we gave great performances, they were great collective performances. So, that shows you that we have only succeeded as a team, and that forges closer bonds between us. On the pitch, we play for our brothers because we are a family, and we do things as a family.”