Kepa shines as Chelsea beat Villarreal on penalties to win UEFA Super Cup

Spanish giants, Villarreal held European champions Chelsea to a draw but eventually lost on penalty shootout in the UEFA Super Cup on Wednesday night.

119th-minute substitute goalkeeper, Kepa Arrizabalaga was the hero for Chelsea, who won 6-5 in the shootout to win yet another trophy.

Villarreal, who are Europa League winners last season, faced their Champions League counterparts in a duel to flag off the new European season.

The Spaniards trailed 1-0 from the 27th minute when Kai Havertz assisted Hakim Ziyech to open scoring for Chelsea before they fought back in the 73rd minute via a Gerard Moreno equaliser.

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The game then went into extra time and both sides failed to convert their chances in the 30 minutes, forcing the game to go into penalty shootout.

Villarreal failed to convert two of their spot kicks with Kepa keeping them out, while the Blues saw just one of their kicks fail to go in as they clinched a 6-5 victory in the end.

The game was Chelsea’s fifth appearance in the UEFA Super Cup, and their second success in the competition, making them only the second English team to win it more than once.

They won the trophy in 1998, but have lost out on their last three occasions (2012, 2013 and 2019).

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