Chelsea 2-0 Liverpool: Hits and Flops as the Blues defeat the Reds to secure quarter-final spot | FA Cup 2019-20

#1 Hit: Kepa Arrizabalaga

Kepa made his long-awaited return, excelling with a string of impressive saves to earn his clean sheet

They say time heals everything. Kepa Arrizabalaga had been in the cold, watching helplessly from the substitutes' bench for weeks as 38-year-old Willy Caballero stood firm in his place.

This outing represented his golden chance to silence the critics and reclaim his berth as the first-choice keeper. 18-year-old Gilmour stole the show with a mature display, Barkley excelled while Liverpool were beaten again - but this entire piece would have been flipped upside down, if not for Kepa's brilliant saves.

KEPA SAVES 👏KEPA SAVES 😳KEPA SAVES 🤯#UndertheLights #CHELIV pic.twitter.com/RBIedbfnoS

— The Emirates FA Cup (@EmiratesFACup) March 3, 2020

He's been endlessly criticised for having the league's worst save percentage (56.1%) and that's far from a flattering statistic when you're the world's most expensive goalkeeper. No-one stopped to think about his defensive protection or lack thereof.

Caballero had conceded 11 goals in six games (all comps) with no clean sheets, so clearly this wasn't just as straightforward as Kepa's dwindling form. Nonetheless, the 25-year-old Spaniard stood up when needed most, to keep his second clean sheet of 2020.

He denied Mane early on, then delivered the ridiculous triple save above after 20 minutes - denying Mane, Origi and Jones during a goalmouth scramble. He dived low to stop a determined Mane again after he'd effortlessly muscled his way through and was reliable overall.

Just like Gilmour and Barkley, there's no reason why Kepa doesn't have a pivotal role to play between now and mid-May, especially after a performance like that. Lampard's men are keen to finish with silverware and a Champions League qualification place for 2020-21 and, therefore, they need their first-choice 'keeper back to form.

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Stats' source: SofaScore