Rio Ferdinand proved wrong by Chelsea 'keeper Kepa Arrizabalaga's penalty trick

Chelsea'sKepa Arrizabalaga silenced a number of his many critics with his penalty shootout performance last night, including Manchester United icon Rio Ferdinand.

The Blues second choice Spanish shot-stopper was introduced with just one minute of extra-time to play during Chelsea's UEFA Super Cup triumph over Villarreal as the shadow of penalties loomed larger over the tie.

Thomas Tuchel's side had taken the lead in the first half courtesy of a scuffed Hakim Ziyech effort, but were pegged back to 1-1 after Gerard Moreno's equaliser mid-way through the second period.

The 30 minutes of extra time passed by with little to note outside of Tuchel's decision to replace number one 'keeper Edouard Mendy with Kepa.

Kepa Arrizabalaga came off the bench to be the hero in the shootout after saving two Villarreal penalties

It proved to be an inspired choice, as Kepa saved two Villarreal spot-kicks, the first coming from Aissa Mandi and then the deciding spot-kick from Raul Albiol to seal a 6-5 win for Chelsea.

His winning save actually came with a spot of showboating, as many fans noticed Kepa actually began to point to the left of his goal, pretending that he was planning to dive that way, only to leap to his right to keep out Albiol's effort.

Speaking in the interval between the conclusion of extra-time and prior to the penalty shootout, Ferdinand explained to BT Sport that he did not understand the substitution.

The former Old Trafford favourite said: "Normally, you'd be thinking, 'why am I coming off, I need to be on, I'm the number one goalkeeper'.

"But he [Mendy] seemed very accepting in this situation, maybe it was spoken about beforehand.

"I don't remember thinking Kepa is a dominant goalkeeper when it comes to penalties, correct me if I'm wrong, but they must've planned this, gives him a bit of confidence, but I don't know - it's crazy."

Ferdinand continued, "With Mendy in goal, I fancied Chelsea, but now, I'm not too sure. I don't mean to sound disrespectful to Kepa, but Mendy is such a composed, confident goalkeeper, he fills you with confidence, the size he is, he fills the goal. Now, I think it's much more even."

Will Kepa feature more often for Chelsea this season? Have your say here.

Rio Ferdinand questioned the decision to introduce Kepa into the fray during Chelsea's Super League success ( Image:

PA)

Following Kepa's stunning display, Ferdinand was forced to eat his words and concede Kepa's introduction proved to be a positive decision.

"Obviously, Thomas Tuchel knew something we didn't. Before every penalty was taken, he was right up in the faces of the Villarreal players, he's got something about him, he's got character, and you get your rewards sometimes for hard work.

"Behind the scenes, he's obviously putting in the hard work and he got his rewards today."

Get your hands on your club's special edition 2021/22 annual. Find out more here