‘It is down to hard work’ – Chelsea’s Mendy reveals key to world-class display



Chelsea goalkeeper Edouard Mendy has explained what led to his man-of-the-match display against Brentford in the Premier League fixture on Saturday.

The 29-year-old Senegal custodian was the star player during the match at Brentford Community Stadium as he made a string of superb saves to deny the home team in the 1-0 win.

Chelsea had taken the lead through Ben Chilwell in the 45th minute but the second half belonged to the promoted side who attacked from all angles looking for the equaliser but they were kept at bay by the former Rennes goalkeeper.

“I am happy with how I performed,” Mendy said as quoted by the club’s official website. “It’s down to hard work. I prepared during the week with my teammates and coaches to help the team, and I was able to do that.

“We knew we were coming up against a very difficult team. They have shown that since they got promoted to the Premier League, especially at home against Arsenal and Liverpool. That makes it a really good result.

“It was very hard. There was so much intensity in the game, and a great atmosphere. We had to suffer and we suffered together. We passed the hurdle together. It’s a positive and now we need to build on this momentum in the Champions League.”

On Chelsea having to dig deep to walk away with three precious points, Mendy explained: “We have shown a lot of character recently to win close games. There is always a lot of physical intensity in the Premier League and we have responded each time.

“A team that wants to be at the top of the league all season has to has to sometimes find a way to win games, and we have done that.”

Despite scoring against Brentford, Chilwell believes most of the credit should go to Mendy for the points they earned.

“I’m happy to score a goal but I think we have got to thank Edou,” insisted Chilwell as quoted by the club’s website.

“I don’t know how many saves he made but there were a lot of very important saves and he does it every week for us. He bails us out, whether it’s once or twice, or in this game on several occasions. He’s a world-class goalkeeper and is the one we’ve got to thank.

“It just gives you confidence when you know you’ve got someone like that behind you that comes to collect the ball from crosses, is a brilliant shot-stopper and good with his feet.

“We see it every day in training but now he’s getting the credit he deserves and in these sorts of games where he makes big saves, he gets us the three points in the end.”



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