The Belgian has now opened up about how he handled the criticism and the impact Alonso’s public backing had on his confidence. He also revealed how his teammates helped him put the Tottenham blunder behind him.

Mike Penders opens up on Chelsea recovery after costly Spurs error

Mike Penders began the season as Chelsea’s second-choice goalkeeper behind Emi Martinez, starting their Carabao Cup matches against Luton Town and Leeds United. He then replaced the injured Argentine against Everton before receiving his first league start against Tottenham.

The 21-year-old became Chelsea’s youngest goalkeeper to start a Premier League match, but endured a nightmare afternoon at Stamford Bridge. Penders punched the ball into his own net from a corner to gift Spurs a 1-0 lead before the visitors eventually won 2-0.

The former Strasbourg goalkeeper received plenty of criticism but has shown signs of putting that disappointment behind him. Penders saved a penalty in the Carabao Cup shootout against Liverpool before producing an excellent performance against Man Utd. He made a world-class save to tip Bryan Mbeumo’s long-range effort onto the crossbar; replays showed he got the slightest touch to prevent a certain goal.

“Right now I feel very good,” Penders said, via the official Chelsea site. “It’s been a rollercoaster of emotions as well, but now I’m very happy I could react positively in the last two games… mistakes happen. You think about them; that’s normal, but I try to turn it into something positive.

“I try to learn from it. I like to look at the videos to see what I could do better, and then move on. It was a learning moment, and outside of the mistake, I felt okay during the game. The most important thing was to have a positive reaction in the next couple of games, and I’m happy I could bring that.”

Penders also credited Xabi Alonso’s public support with helping him regain confidence, while several teammates reached out after the Tottenham defeat. He suggested that some had even sent him messages encouraging him to keep his chin up.

Penders continued: “[Alonso] spoke very positively about me during interviews, which gave me a lot of confidence to go into the next game. Also, my defenders and some of the other players came up to me and just spoke with me. I appreciated that a lot.

“You don’t forget these kinds of things, you know? The players who come up to you, write you a little message: ‘Keep your head up, keep going.’ It means a lot.”

Penders may now get another opportunity to impress against Sunderland on Sunday. Martinez has only recently returned from his broken jaw and is still wearing a protective face mask, so the youngster could retain his place in goal.