How Premier League stars fared on international duty as Kepa keeps out Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo

Ousted as Chelsea No 1 by the signing of Edouard Mendy, his confidence shredded following a spate of mistakes, Spain goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga was handed a lifeline by his national team manager on Wednesday. 

The out-of-form 26-year-old started against Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal in Lisbon and despite the hosts flirting with the crossbar on two occasions, a first clean sheet since July 14 does Kepa’s chances of a club recall no harm. 

In fact, in a star-studded contest which involved a grand total of 15 Premier League players, it was the keepers who stole the show, with Kepa’s opposite number Rui Patricio of Wolves pulling off a string of fine saves in an entertaining goalless stalemate. 

Kepa Arrizabalaga kept an impressive clean sheet for Spain against Portugal on Wednesday

Wolves’ Rui Patricio, in goal for Portugal, was excellent too in the goalless draw in Lisbon

Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo started for the hosts but could not get on the scoresheet

For Kepa though, after a nightmare few months in-between the sticks, the faith showed in him by Luis Enrique will be of extreme comfort. 

Mind you, he rode his luck. Though he looked assured under the high ball and dominated his penalty area astutely, he was soundly beaten twice only for his crossbar to save him. 

First, it was Ronaldo with a piercing left-footed drive which cannoned off the underside of the crossbar and out, before Renato Sanches had Kepa beaten all ends up only for the woodwork to save the Spain keeper again. 

He had his moments though, as he reacted quickly to quell an opportunity for Joao Felix late on. Then again, the Atletico Madrid striker should have bagged a last-minute winner, but he somehow missed the ball from a yard out, goal gaping. 

Sometimes, that’s all you need to kickstart some much-needed momentum – a stroke of good fortune. Kepa will certainly hope Wednesday marks a turning point. 

Whether he starts in the Nations League clash against Switzerland on Saturday though, with David de Gea waiting in the wings, remains to be seen. 

Elsewhere amongst the outfield stars on show at the Jose Alvalade stadium, four of Spain’s back-five play on English shores, with Man City’s Eric Garcia, Leeds’ Diego Llorente and Tottenham’s Sergio Reguilon all contributing towards the visiting clean sheet.

Further ahead, Arsenal’s Dani Ceballos was assured in midfield, Leeds forward Rodrigo saw a fine first-half effort smartly saved by Patricio and Adama Traore – who has been toying about who to represent at international level with Mali interested – made an exciting debut for Spain in the closing stages. 

On the Portuguese side, there was no substitute appearance for Manchester United’s Bruno Fernandes but Liverpool’s £43m summer signing Diogo Jota did appear with 10 minutes to go. 

Wolves’ Nelson Semedo and City’s record signing Ruben Dias were also second-half substitutes. 

But the most influential replacement was Bernardo Silva, with the City playmaker neatly triggering Portuguese attacks in the second period. His spurt of quality should have resulted in a victory for the hosts. 

Amongst the starters, Wolves pair Ruben Neves and Joao Moutinho were their usual sturdy-selves in the centre of the park, while City’s Joao Cancelo – who scored a rocket for his country last month – was solid at right back. 

Joao Felix somehow missed with the goal at his mercy in the last minute of the contest

Wolves winger Adama Traore came on to make his debut for Spain in the closing stages

Elsewhere, on a night of numerous international friendlies, with a total of 33 Premier League players involved, it was the turn of the forgotten man to shine on his 100th cap. 

For Olivier Giroud, this was a night to remember and perhaps one of the proudest of his career. He brought up a ton of France appearances with two goals against an overpowered Ukraine side, in a 7-1 victory at the Stade de France.   

That brings his France tally to 41 goals. A goal ratio of 40 per cent – not bad for Chelsea’s third-choice striker and a man so often underrated and underused by his managers at club level. 

Clearly still valued at international level though by Didier Deschamps, Giroud is now only behind Thierry Henry in the France record goalscoring stakes. 

Olivier Giroud scored twice on his 100th cap for France in a 7-1 win against Ukraine in Paris

Everton left back Lucas Digne started for France in a dominant victory for the world champions

In Amsterdam, there was disappointment for the trio of Dutch stars in action against Mexico. 

Raul Jimenez, who recently signed a new contract to stay at Wolves, fired home a 60th minute penalty to give his country the victory against Virgil Van Dijk, Gini Wijnaldum and Donny van de Beek.

All three Dutch stars started at the Johan Cruyff Arena , potentially still reeling following heavy defeats for their clubs on Sunday. 

Donny van de Beek (left) and captain Virgil Van Dijk started for Holland against Mexico

But Wolves’ Raul Jimenez’s netted a second-half penalty which won the contest for Mexico

There was better success for a Premier League player in Germany though, as Chelsea’s £73m man Kai Havertz set up two goals for his country in an action-packed 3-3 draw against Turkey. 

Havertz laid on goals for Julian Draxler and Florian Neuhaus in Cologne, though Arsenal No 1 Bernd Leno conceded a last-minute equaliser. 

Interestingly, despite being frozen out at Stamford Bridge, Antonio Rudiger started in defence for the Germans. Still highly-rated by Joachim Low, it will be fascinating to see if the centre back can retain his space in the national team squad after failing to secure a move away from west London this summer. 

Swiss captain Granit Xhaka, of Arsenal, also grabbed an assist in a 2-1 defeat against Croatia – which saw Chelsea’s Mateo Kovacic start for the victors – while Kasper Schmeichel, Jannik Vestergaard and Andreas Christensen all featured in a 4-0 Danish win against the Faroe Islands

However, perhaps the finest moment from a Premier League player on Wednesday night came from a completely unknown quantity. 

Chelsea’s Kai Havertz recorded two assists for Germany in a 3-3 draw against Turkey

Kamil Grosicki, who plays for West Brom, scored a 19-minute hat-trick for Poland in Gdnask

Winger Kamil Grosicki has only scored once for West Brom since joining them in January, but netted a superb 19-minute hat-trick for Poland against Finland in Gdansk. 

Captaining his country with no Robert Lewandowski present, Grosicki has scored four goals already in the 2020-21 campaign, all at international level – he is yet to play in the Premier League this season. 

Currently winless and languishing perilously close to the relegation zone, Slaven Bilic should perhaps take note.