Chelsea fans ask 'what happened' to Edouard Mendy after awful howler on Al-Ahli debut

Edouard Mendy was allowed to leave Chelsea after a final campaign blighted by injuries and poor performances, but his struggles appear to have followed him to Saudi Arabia

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Patrick Austen-Hardy Senior Sports Journalist

22:07, 11 Aug 2023

It was not a good evening for Edouard Mendy(Image: Twitter/brfootball)

Former Chelsea goalkeeper Edouard Mendy made an atrocious error on his Al-Ahli debut.

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The Champions League winner was allowed to follow the money towards the Saudi Pro League after a disappointing final campaign at Stamford Bridge. Mendy's season was blighted by injuries and an alarming spell of poor form which saw him lose his place to fellow error-prone shot-stopper Kepa Arrizabalaga.

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Chelsea sold him to Al-Ahli in a deal believed to be worth around £16m, which represented a £6m hit on the goalkeeper they bought from Rennes for around £22m in 2020.

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Nevertheless, it looks to have been a prudent move as Mendy made a dreadful mistake in his new side's 3-1 victory over Al-Hazm.

One of Mendy's most obvious weaknesses at Chelsea was his passing and distribution with his feet. Unfortunately for the Africa Cup of Nations winner, his lack of confidence with the ball was plain for all to see again.

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There appeared to be little danger when the Senegal international received a pass from his defender. While one Al-Hazm attacker was pressing him, he could have quite easily cleared the ball away from danger or even get it under control to find a team-mate.

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Mendy played himself into danger and was instantly punished(Image: Twitter/brfootball)

Instead, Mendy tried a daring first time pass through the opposition attacking lines. However, Al-Hazm forward Vinícius Goes Barbosa de Souza read his pass perfectly.

Before he had a chance to get back to his goal line, the Brazilian lofted a perfectly weighted effort over the top of him and into the back of the net. After the error, his former fans and rivals have took to Twitter to poke fun at the goalkeeper. "Crazy how he had that one elite season to win the CL. Honestly that needs to be studied," one fan wrote.

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There was nowhere to hide for Mendy(Image: Photo by Yasser Bakhsh/Getty Images)

"Oh dear.. what were they expecting," said another scathing supporter. "Good lord we sold him at the right time," wrote a very relieved member of the Chelsea faithful.

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However, empathetic Chelsea fans chose not to join the band wagon and instead wondered how it came to this? "He was the best keeper in the world two seasons ago? What happened," asked one sad Blue.