Chelsea boss Tuchel takes responsibility as he explains Kepa penalty decision

Thomas Tuchel had no regrets after his decision to send on Chelsea 's understudy goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga backfired spectacularly.

Blues boss Tuchel took off man of the match Edouard Mendy to send on the £71m Spaniard, who has saved a club record eight penalties in shoot-outs.

But Kepa failed to save a single one against Liverpool – and then skied his decisive 11th kick as the Reds lifted the Carabao Cup at Wembley.

Tuchel said: "I feel bad for him of course but no blame. We did it before. He trains with the players on a daily basis on penalties. He simply has more time to do this than Mendy.

"Everybody knows how good he is. Unfortunately he could not save a penalty. They were brilliantly taken.

"A bit harsh on him that he missed the one and only penalty but there is no blame. We shouldn't lose sleep over it.

"We don't know what would have happened if we'd left Edou on the pitch. I take the decisions. Sometimes it works.

"Sometimes it doesn't. That's life as a coach.

"There are no regrets. I take responsibility for that. If you want to blame somebody, blame me."

Kepa, who famously refused to be substituted in the 2019 Carabao Cup final, came on to save two penalties in Chelsea's Super Cup final win over Villarreal.

But he looked distraught after missing the final kick at Wembley and had to be consoled by his team-mates.

Tuchel also claimed Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich's decision to take a step back from the club in the light of Russia's invasion of Ukraine should not affect his job.

The Blues boss, who has yet to speak to Abramovich about the situation, said: "I have daily conversations with Petr Cech and very regularly with Marina (Granovskaia).

"They’re in charge of football and it’s my understanding they will stay in charge so it will not change a lot for me.”

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