Djordje Petrovic was the hero of the penalty shootout as he started the race to Chelsea’s No. 1.
The 24-year-old Serbian saved Matt Ritchie’s penalty (Newcastle’s fourth) to send the Blues into the Carabao Cup semi-finals.
Petrovic used all of his 6ft 6in frame to claw away Ritchie’s strike and spark wild celebrations at Stamford Bridge after the match had finished 1-1.
Following his moment in the spotlight, the Chelsea squad mobbed the £14million signing from New England Revolution.
Robert Sanchez saw that he had a real fight on his hands.
Sanchez has made mistakes since joining from Brighton in the summer, particularly in his distribution and when claiming crosses, and could lose his place in the long-term.
On the other hand, Petrovic looked confident, both in his distribution and in the formation of his defense, but he hadn’t faced many shots before the penalty shootout.
At Everton, he was beaten by Lewis Dobbin moments after replacing Sanchez, who had a knee injury. Sheffield United controlled just one shot on target this weekend and faced just two shots compared to Newcastle’s overall time.
Petrovic couldn’t prevent Callum Wilson from opening the scoring after calamitous errors from Levi Colwill, Thiago Silva and Benoit Badiashile.
Attacking trio Raheem Sterling, Cole Palmer and Nicolas Jackson struggled to find an equaliser, with striker Christopher Nkunku looking rusty on his long-awaited debut from the bench. Mykhailo Mudryk then pounced on a woeful header from Kieran Trippier to equalise in the 92nd minute.
In the shootout, Petrovic faced more shots than he had done all season. Trippier missed the target before the keeper saved Ritchie’s effort as the Blues won 4-2 in the shootout.
There’s nothing special about Chelsea’s performance, but the outpouring of emotion after the final whistle is still normal.
Stand-in captain Gallagher summed up the mood, saying: “It’s the best feeling I’ve had in a Chelsea shirt so far. I don’t think we’ve had enough of those feelings in those kinds of games.”
Blues coach Mauricio Pochettino shouted “let’s go” in front of a television camera, while Enzo Fernandez cried after falling ill, and the whole team, including unused substitutes and injured players, did a lap of honour.
Pochettino hopes that the celebrations will generate an absent brotherhood in his team.
“I’m satisfied because when you see the whole team, the players injured or worried in the game but satisfied in midfield, it shows that we are a healthy group,” he said.
“Over time, it’s about building a team to compete, expanding the festival [within the team] and being where Chelsea is. “
This unit offers a vision of a better future.
So did a better war for the starting spots, exemplified by Petrovic’s fight to take the top spot away from Sanchez.
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