Petr Cech made his return to the pitch with the Chelsea u23s on Monday, but it didn’t all go to plan despite an eventual victory over Spurs.
Almost a year and a half after his retirement with Arsenal, a 38-year-old Petr Cech was lining up for the Chelsea u23s against Tottenham Hotspur on Monday.
The Chelsea technical and performance advisor was included in their 25-man Premier League squad for 2020/21 in October, given they had a spare space and concerns about the need for an emergency goalkeeper in the current pandemic.
But to build his match fitness Cech needed a game, and he got one with the u23s this week.
Unfortunately, the former Arsenal goalkeeper looked a bit rusty. Arsenal fans were having flashbacks as he kicked the ball directly out for a corner in the opening minutes of the game.
*Horrible flashbacks* https://t.co/rdFM0oEmWN
— Ar-senility (@arsenility) December 14, 2020
I’ve seen this before… https://t.co/RtltDT5HIy
— Elroy Figueiredo (@figgystein) December 14, 2020
De ja vu #afc fans https://t.co/qPEYQbVRn6
— deNoronha (@deNoronhaUK) December 14, 2020
Cech did almost exactly the same thing for Arsenal in a game not too long ago.
I think it’s fair to say playing out from the back isn’t exactly his strong suit.
Chelsea conceded from the ensuing corner, with the Spurs u23 striker sliding the ball underneath Cech. The away side then doubled their lead when the goalkeeper hesitated to come off his line and saw the ball headed past him.
However, it didn’t end too badly for Cech, as Chelsea rallied to win the match 3-2. It just doesn’t look like the goalkeeper will be displacing Edouard Mendy anytime soon.