Tuchel hints at Mendy's reaction to Ballon d'Or snub after Brentford heroics

Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel has hinted that star goalkeeper Edouard Mendy is not phased by his snub for the Ballon d'Or shortlist.

The Senegalese stopper reaffirmed his status as one of the best keepers in the world with a stunning display in Chelsea's 1-0 away victory against Brentford.

After a relatively quiet first half, Mendy produced a breathtaking display in the closing stages of the second period, making four key saves to keep Thomas Frank's side at bay.

Three of those included point-blank stops against Sergi Canos and Mathias Jensen, before a flying save in the 90th minute from Christian Norgaard's overhead kick.

It was a monumental display from the goalkeeper who was omitted from the Ballon d'Or nominations just days before the match against Brentford.

Thomas Tuchel does not believe the Ballon d'Or omission has effected Mendy ( Image:

Javier Garcia/REX/Shutterstock)

However, Tuchel believes this snubbing has not phased the 29-year-old.

"I hope it does not bother him because it does not bother me too much," said Tuchel.

"It seems like he is not influenced by that, which is a good thing.

"He is the guy that he is, and everybody is so happy for him that he can help us and him get to first place, so everything is good."

Last season, Mendy became the first ever African goalkeeper to win the Champions League, keeping nine clean sheets in 12 matches along the way.

He made a number of vital saves for the Blues on their way to European success, particularly in both legs of Chelsea's triumph over Real Madrid in the semi-finals.

And with the Senegalese shot stopper playing all but one of the Blues' Champions League matches under both Frank Lampard and Tuchel, his omission from the Ballon d'Or nominations list was eyebrow raising.

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Five Chelsea players in total were included in the nominations of the prestigious award.

Cesar Azpilicueta, Mason Mount, N'Golo Kante, Jorginho, and £97m summer recruit Romelu Lukaku were all included in the awards.

Italy and Paris Saint-Germain star Gianluigi Donnarumma was the only goalkeeper to be included in the shortlist, after his spectacular displays during the European Championships in the summer.

Despite becoming the first African player to win the Champions League, Mendy was snubbed from the Ballon d'Or shortlist

However, Tuchel also said he is not too fussed Mendy was not included in the award as he gets more satisfaction when he performs well for the Blues.

"It's more important that he performs like this than he is on any list," the German boss said defiantly.

"You know, I think that we could be on that list as a whole team, because we won the trophy as a team.

"If we have five names or six names it does not matter.

"I have the feeling that we won it with 21, 23 guys, and everybody played this role.

"That's how football works, and today we relied heavily on him again."

Chelsea have an excellent opportunity to bounce back from their 1-0 away defeat to Juventus in the Champions League, when they host Malmo at Stamford Bridge.

The Blues are currently trailing the Italian giants in Group H by three points, after Federico Chiesa's early second-half strike secured the win for Massimiliano Allegri's side.