Chelsea Confidential: Mike Penders’ Vaseline goalkeeping hack revealed, Emi Martinez fitness update, why Estevao started against ‘weak’ Man United and the £750 ‘dressing room experience’ for Blues fans

One of the secrets to Chelsea goalkeeper Mike Penders stopping Manchester United from scoring at Stamford Bridge was to smear a stash of Vaseline on his goalpost.

The 21-year-old Belgian used the petroleum jelly to add grip to his gloves during the game and particularly before corners. Prior to one United set-piece, Penders walked to the woodwork to rub his hands with the substance which was hidden up high towards his crossbar. He then caught the ball when Bruno Fernandes’ cross came into his box.

It seems counterintuitive to smear a greasy substance on gloves to aid catching but it is an old goalkeeper hack – and perfectly legal in the laws of the game – with former England keeper Ben Foster once saying on his podcast: ‘It’s hard to explain, but if we were in a training session, I could tell you if one of us had Vaseline on our gloves, because as soon as I grab the ball, it does make it grippier.’

Penders may have learned the trick from Sweden’s Karl-Johan Johnsson. They were both at Chelsea’s sister side Strasbourg last season – Penders as No 1 and Johnsson as No 2.

Johnsson is now 36 and without a club. He did not respond when contacted by Confidential, but he does have an old YouTube channel. His most popular video – viewed 54,000 times and uploaded in 2021 when he was a goalkeeper for Copenhagen – is about the benefits of Vaseline.

While Johnsson would apply it from the blue-topped tub in the changing room before kick-off, he would also add a chunk to his goalpost so he could easily top up mid-match if needed.

The Vaseline tip has tended to be passed on from ‘keeper to ‘keeper. Ask Foster and he will say he learned it from Joe Hart. Ask Hart and he will credit Kasper Schmeichel. And so on.

For Johnsson, he believes there is a psychological benefit as it not only gave greater grip to his gloves but made him feel more confident in goal, particularly in wet weather.

Stamford Bridge was soaking when Penders struggled in his first Premier League start as Tottenham Hotspur visited Chelsea. That was a match played in the midst of Storm Boelo. At one corner, the youngster filling in for Emiliano Martinez mistimed a punch for an own goal. With that lead, Spurs went on to win 2-0, their first victory at the Bridge since 2018.

It is not known if he used the Vaseline hack in that derby defeat, but sources told Confidential to look out for his use of it in their following two fixtures versus Liverpool and United.

Penders put in a fine performance at Liverpool in the Carabao Cup, despite Chelsea losing on penalties at Anfield after a 1-1 draw. Had Emmanuel Emegha scored his spot-kick, Xabi Alonso’s side would have reached the quarter-finals after Penders denied Ryan Gravenberch from 12 yards.

In Chelsea’s 2-0 Premier League victory over United, Penders made sure of his clean sheet with several saves, including a world-class stop as he tipped Bryan Mbeumo’s rocket on to his crossbar.

As mentioned, it is entirely legal. IFAB – football’s lawmakers – has no rule against Vaseline or any other petroleum jelly being applied to goalkeepers’ gloves in their regulations on player equipment.

EMI PUSHING TO PLAY

In more goalkeeper news, Martinez has been privately pushing to play in Chelsea’s trip to Sunderland this Sunday, per sources who also revealed how he has been insisting to club colleagues that he wants to represent Argentina during the upcoming international break.

Since this information was relayed to Confidential earlier this week, Martinez has indeed been called up by Lionel Scaloni for his country’s friendlies versus Uruguay and Costa Rica.

Alonso confirmed at his last press conference that ‘there is a chance’ his goalkeeper could return before the break. That would leave Chelsea’s manager with a decision to make – whether to stick with Penders, who has shown his potential in the last two games, or turn to Martinez, who has seen a specialist while sidelined about having a face-mask fitted.

The 34-year-old Argentinian broke his jaw in Chelsea’s 2-0 Premier League win away at Everton in mid-October. He had surgery, and said at the time that he would be ‘back in a few weeks’. That will be three weeks ago this weekend when Alonso’s squad travel to Sunderland.

Meanwhile, Aaron Anselmino has also been called up by Argentina, despite having not played a single minute for Chelsea this season. He has only made the match-day squad once as an unused substitute in their first game in the Carabao Cup against Luton Town in August.

Then he disappeared. But Confidential did spy Anselmino last Saturday for the first time in a while as he took a seat behind the bench, and now he is in the Argentina squad. That is despite Alonso telling us at his last press conference that he was injured.

WHY MAN UTD WERE CHOSEN FOR ESTEVAO

Chelsea sources who were consulted by Confidential after Estevao was suddenly handed his first Premier League start of the season have explained why Manchester United were purposefully picked as the opponents.

We are told Alonso has had concerns about the 19-year-old Brazilian’s physicality and Chelsea’s fitness staff have been tasked with working on building him up. But United, managed by Michael Carrick, were seen as ideal opposition for having him play from the beginning.

United were considered weaker than the Premier League’s other physical sides, which lessened Alonso’s reservations. Estevao did indeed have fun, could not be tamed by Diogo Dalot, and was unfortunate not to get among the goals in the 2-0 win.

It remains to be seen if Estevao will now keep his place away at Sunderland, where Chelsea crumbled on the final day of last season to end up out of Europe.

BAD LUCK FOR BLACK CATS

There were some interesting quotes from Regis Le Bris last week as the Sunderland boss praised his centre back Omar Alderete after they beat Brentford in the Carabao Cup.

‘We spoke about the style of play,’ Le Bris said. ‘We try to press high. It’s more or less the trend of the Premier League. You press up, and it means your opponent will go long. If your centre-backs are not strong, consistent and able to manage one v ones, it’s over. Thank you, Omar.’

Except, Alderete is now suspended for the visit of Chelsea, and despite Le Bris liking to press high, the statistics say only Coventry have won possession in the final third fewer times than Sunderland this season.

It is a big game for Le Bris, who has avoided losing his job while his side sit bottom of the Premier League with a vote of confidence coming from his board in the build-up to Chelsea’s visit.

PAY TO LAY BEFORE THEY PLAY

Chelsea are making significant money on having fans lay out their favourite player’s kit and boots in the changing room on a match day, while the supporter can also leave a good-luck message.

The ‘VVIP dressing room experience’ is already a sell-out for Chelsea’s next Premier League home game versus Leeds United on Saturday November 21 at £750 per person.

There are other perks which come with that package – you aren’t just paying to do the kit-man’s job for him – but it is another example of Chelsea’s outside-of-the-box hospitality ideas.

Those with tickets for Club Chelsea and the Dugout Club celebrated their team beating United on Halloween with a big batch of gingerbread mummy cookies featuring the club logo on the front. The few hundred treats were made by Bumble & Goose, a family-run bakehouse.