“He’s smarter” – Chelsea fans demand opportunity for player ‘on the bench for too long’ after defeats to Brentford and Real Madrid

Chelsea fans have urged the club to start Kepa Arrizabalaga instead of Edouard Mendy for their upcoming fixtures. That comes after Mendy's high-profile error during the Blues' 3-1 defeat to Real Madrid in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League quarterfinals.

Mendy was already twice beaten by Karim Benzema in the first half after the Frenchman scored two headed goals. The 34-year-old forward then secured his hat-trick after the Chelsea custodian fumbled his pass to Antonio Rudiger. Madrid cleared the ball following an attack from the hosts. Mendy was hurried by an incoming Karim Benzema, which resulted in an error.

Blues supporters on Twitter were not happy with Mendy's performance on Wednesday night and have demanded that Arrizabalaga get a chance in the starting XI. Some have even suggested that the Spanish goalkeeper has been on the bench for way too long.

Here are some tweets in this regard:

Kepa Arrizabalaga has barely gotten a run in the Chelsea first team this season. The Spanish international has made just 15 appearances this season, with only four of them coming in the Premier League and one in the UEFA Champions League.

The 27-year-old shot-stopper has mostly been used in domestic cup competitions by manager Thomas Tuchel.

Arrizabalaga was used as a substitute goalkeeper during the 2022 Carabao Cup final in February against Liverpool. However, the former Athletic Bilbao custodian failed to save any of Liverpool's 11 penalties and also blazed his spot kick wide. That was the only miss in an epic shootout where 21 other players scored.

It's worth mentioning that Kepa Arrizabalaga is the world's most expensive goalkeeper. Chelsea paid around €80 million to Bilbao back in the summer of 2018 for his services.

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Chelsea need a response against Southampton following back-to-back defeats

Chelsea have lost consecutive games across competitions since club football returned after the international break last week. Thomas Tuchel's me suffered a shock 4-1 defeat against Brentford before their loss in the UEFA Champions League at home to Real Madrid.

The reigning European champions will now want a positive result when they travel to Southampton on Saturday. It's worth noting that the Saints lost three consecutive league games before picking up a 1-1 draw against Leeds United at the weekend.

The Blues remaib third in the league standings, having accumulated 59 points from 29 games. They are five points clear of fourth-placed Tottenham Hotspur and have a game in hand as well.