Champions League winners, Chelsea have won their first-ever Uefa Super Cup in 23 years after defeating Villareal 6-5 on penalties at Windsor Park in Belfast Wednesday.
Chelsea had gone in the lead through Hakim Ziyech in the 27th minute, converting a cross from Kai Havertz from close range.
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The Moroccan international appeared to hurt his shoulder while defending a corner kick against the Spanish side and was later seen on the Chelsea bench with a sling on his arm.
The Spaniards hit the woodwork on either side of the break before Gerard Moreno equalised in the 73rd minute to force extra time.
Kepa Arrizabalaga who has lost his place as number one since joining the club for a world-record fee for a goalkeeper in 2018 was the hero for the Blues in the shootout after denying Raul Albiol in sudden death to hand Chelsea the cup for a second time after previously lifting the crown in 1998.
It was the first time the Super Cup was played in Northern Ireland and 13,000 spectators generated a fantastic atmosphere in the south Belfast stadium, the highest attendance at any sports event in the country since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Super Cup is an annual football match contested by the champions of the continent’s two main club competitions – the Champions League and the Europa League.
Meanwhile, Edouard Mendy has become the first African goalkeeper to play in the competition’s final since a former Zimbabwe icon Bruce Grobbelaar versus Juventus in 1985.
