League Cup final: Kepa Arrizabalaga refuses to be subbed, coach Maurizio Sarri furious

The astonishing refusal by Kepa Arrizabalaga, the world’s most expensive goal keeper, to be substituted was an embarrassment to himself and football.

Chelsea goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga, right, ignored manager Maurizio Sarri’s decision (pictured left) to substitute him.

For Chelsea, the mutiny. For Manchester City, the bounty. A humdrum EFL Cup final won by City will be remembered for many a year for events late on in extra time, when Kepa Arrizabalaga, Chelsea’s goalkeeper, refused to leave the field when summoned to the bench by Maurizio Sarri, his head coach.

It was an astonishing, unprecedented sight. He shall not, he shall not be moved. If anybody needed confirmation of the pecking order at Chelsea, here it was writ large that the players believe themselves more powerful than the manager. Arrizabalaga tried to justify his behaviour, insisting he was not showing disrespect to Sarri, that he had no injury issues and wanted to help his team in the shoot-out. Yet, to borrow from the Chelsea song-book, Arrizabalaga went one step beyond in defying his manager and this way, madness lies. He humiliated Sarri. He embarrassed himself and his club. His stance signalled an arrogant assumption that the game is about individuals, not the collective, and that’s a bonfire of the sanities in a team sport.

The world’s most expensive goalkeeper at £71.6 million ($130m) when signing from Athletic Bilbao last summer, Kepa needs to be disciplined by his club, not simply for Chelsea to grasp at some pride and semblance of order but also for the game generally. Such sedition, “doing a Kepa” as it will now be known, must not be allowed to be repeated. Grassroots coaches, and school teachers, must be dreading copycats in their care. Even Antonio Rattin, Argentina’s dismissed captain, left the Wembley pitch eventually in 1966.

😳 - Have you EVER seen anything like it!?

Maurizio Sarri tries to substitute Kepa Arrizabalaga for Willy Caballero, but Kepa refuses to come off and Sarri is absolutely FURIOUS! 😡 pic.twitter.com/Q81v6ry3Kk

— Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) February 24, 2019

The contrast with City’s players, united behind their inspiring, serial success of a manager, Pep Guardiola, was clear. The togetherness in Guardiola’s camp was captured in the shoot-out when all the City staff stood in a line, arms draped around shoulders, full square behind those out there taking the kicks. Sarri’s staff were scattered around their technical area, some standing, a few on their haunches, a tired bunch, as if waiting for a delayed train.

It is why Guardiola and his squad took another stride towards a potential quadruple while Sarri, defeated in result and spirit, surely heads towards the exit at Stamford Bridge and his players will, in all likelihood, finish the season rich in wages but poorer in credibility.

The situation is not helped by Roman Abramovich, the owner, being largely absent after the Russian’s issues with the British passport office, and this allows players to fill the power vacuum. Arrizabalaga’s insubordination summed up the lack of leadership at Chelsea: a headstrong player; a head coach who cannot command the respect of his players to complete routine match-day commands; and no senior players with the sense of responsibility and authority to make their errant keeper fall into line. Arrizabalaga’s insurrection reflected badly on his captain, Cesar Azpilicueta, who failed to intervene. Azpilicueta said that he was too far away, so he could not comment, but he should have run straight to his goalkeeper and ushered him to the touchline. David Luiz wandered over to have a word, but soon left. If only a John Terry had still been in the dressing room, a Didier Drogba. Chelsea lack the characters of old. Chelsea lack character.

One had to feel for Willy Caballero, their reserve goalkeeper, who was standing there having been told to get stripped by Sarri. Arrizabalaga refused to budge because he insisted that he was not injured, despite needing medical attention after making one stop, and then stretching his hamstring after making a save from Sergio Aguero. Whatever his desire to play on while twice feeling a tweak of cramp, Kepa was honour-bound, and contractually obligated, to obey his coach’s instructions. He even appeared to wink at the cameras afterwards.

Chelsea's Italian head coach Maurizio Sarri (L) reacts after Chelsea's Spanish goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga remains on the pitch after an attempt to substitute him for Chelsea's Argentinian goalkeeper Willy Caballero (R) during the English League Cup final football match between Manchester City and Chelsea at Wembley.

There was an argument for sending Caballero on anyway, given his expertise at stopping penalties, having saved three when playing for City against Liverpool in the 2016 final. Caballero looked heartbroken as he put his tracksuit back on, and threatened to return to the dressing room. Sarri, meanwhile, was so enraged that he marched down the tunnel, before coming back. Even Gianfranco Zola, his assistant and the most gentle man in football, looked outraged by Arrizabalaga’s behaviour.

The frustration for Sarri was that his reputation had been enhanced by the preceding 119 minutes. He had got his tactics right, looking a heavyweight influencer of games from the technical area with his line-up, approach and changes. Until Callum Hudson-Odoi arrived after 79 minutes, Chelsea were cautious, sitting deep, looking to hit on the counter, almost 4-5-1 at times. It worked. Out wide, Pedro and Willian dropped back to shield Azpilicueta and Emerson respectively.

Eden Hazard was tireless through the middle. He made an eye-catching break just before half-time, running on to Willian’s pass, easing Aymeric Laporte out of the way, beating Nicolas Otamendi, then Laporte again, before City blocked. Chelsea almost took a shock lead before half-time when Willian’s free kick from the right was nearly turned in by Otamendi. Chelsea carried a threat. The bus was not permanently parked.

City kept attacking in that relentless way of theirs. Aguero went close, but his low shot was held by Arrizabalaga. Over on the left, Raheem Sterling kept twisting Azpilicueta this way and that. Sterling was delivering one of those performances, showing that he is absorbing all of the advice from Guardiola and Mikel Arteta about the judicious use of the ball, and one of his passes, stroked behind Antonio Rudiger and Azpilicueta, perfectly picked out David Silva. Again Chelsea, well organised and determined, slammed the door shut.

As the second half progressed, Chelsea grew in belief. When Willian released Hazard down the left, he ghosted past Vincent Kompany. Hazard’s cutback arrowed to N’Golo Kante, whose strike flew over.

Sarri removed Pedro after 79 minutes, sending on Hudson-Odoi to huge cheers from the Chelsea fans, then Ruben Loftus-Cheek and then Gonzalo Higuain five minutes into extra time. Then came the right palaver with Arrizabalaga, who went over at full-time to shake Caballero’s hand, and get ready for penalties. Having defied his manager, Arrizabalaga had to defy City, otherwise the opprobrium would be even more toxic.

Chelsea went first. Jorginho tried to be too clever, doing a little hop during his run-up, and Ederson guessed correctly and saved easily. Arrizabalaga was then sent the wrong way by Ilkay Gundogan. Up came Azpilicueta, rifling the ball into top corner. Arrizabalaga danced on his line, trying to put Aguero off, and it almost worked but the City No 10’s penalty crept under the goalkeeper. Arrizabalaga lay there, his face in the grass, his right hand thumping the turf. Big moment. A save then might have made him the saviour.

Ederson managed to get his fingertips to Emerson’s kick but it was too powerful. Arrizabalaga’s belief in his own abilities appeared to be vindicated when he saved well from Leroy Sane, diving to his right. But David Luiz then hit the post, a mistake punished by Bernardo Silva. Hazard, composure personified, made it 3-3 with a dinked kick. So up walked Sterling, raised so close to the stadium, the man with the Wembley arch tattoo. Guardiola could not watch. Sterling made no mistake, telling his coach afterwards that he put the penalty in “top bins”, sweeping it inexorably and confidently past Arrizabalaga. The tantrum was so costly.

This was so special for all City players, especially for Sterling. He cradled the trophy in his arms, lay down in the tickertape and beamed for the cameras. Sane strolled around the pitch, his arm around Gundogan. Aguero sprayed champagne. Fernandinho, whose tweaked adductor is a concern, blew kisses to the fans, who swayed and sang to Oasis’ Wonderwall. City celebrated as a footballing family while the dysfunctional family that is Chelsea, with their stroppy keeper, had long slipped out into the night.

THE TIMES