Xabi Alonso has a few injury problems to contend with but the performances of one man means the manager doesn't have to rush a certain player back

What a week it was for Mike Penders. Full of ups and downs, but the Chelsea goalkeeper ended it full of confidence.

After the 21-year-old was thrown straight into the deep end at the Hill Dickinson Stadium on October 17 due to Emiliano Martinez being forced off with a fractured jaw, a spell in the first team awaited Penders. In what was effectively his first proper week as a Chelsea senior star, the three fixtures all had a lot riding on them for different reasons.

First up was the small matter of Tottenham at Stamford Bridge. Penders, ironically, was one of the standout performers for the Blues up until a calamitous moment in the second half where he punched a corner into the back of his own net for the opening goal of the game. Spurs eventually doubled their advantage in their 2-0 win in SW6, but that Penders moment was undeniably the turning point.

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That was the Belgium international's full Premier League debut - an unforgettable evening for the goalkeeper for more than one reason. After the game, Xabi Alonso was asked how he would go about trying to pick such a young footballer up following such a horrendous moment.

Admirably, Alonso had Penders' back: "We win, we lose together and it is part of my job with and to overcome from mistakes, myself as well and everyone, so we support Mike and we support the rest of the team.

"He will learn from that and we will want to prove that he can do better and we have to show that we can do better."

Alonso called on Penders to show his mentality and bounce back from his own goal - and he did that with aplomb in the following days. A trip to Anfield followed and while it was 'only' the Carabao Cup - ask Alonso about the significance of that competition - it is still a tough ask for such a young player in one of the country's most daunting stadiums.

Penders, however, was superb for the Blues despite being on the losing side in Liverpool. The pick of the bunch, in terms of saves, from the former Genk goalkeeper was an outstanding stop to deny Bradley Barcola's edge-of-the-box strike in the second half.

He then also produced a moment of excellence in the penalty shootout to deny Ryan Gravenberch from 12 yards. Penders was set to be the hero if Emmanuel Emegha could keep his nerve from the spot, but the Dutch striker saw his effort saved by Giorgi Mamardashvili.

Despite the agony of losing on pens, Penders could hold his head high for his efforts at Anfield and take confidence going into Saturday afternoon's Premier League showdown with Manchester United.

It was Penders' first return to the scene of the crime - in the form of the own goal against Tottenham - at Stamford Bridge. However, the Belgian looked much more assured from the very start.

He made a couple of smart stops to keep United at bay but it was his late save to deny Bryan Mbeumo's thunderous strike from distance towards the end of the match that has gone viral. Mbeumo could not have struck the ball any better and it was travelling at some speed before Penders got the slightest of fingertips before it hit the crossbar.

It is no exaggeration to say it is a Save of the Season contender, even this early on into the new campaign.

Alonso was delighted with Penders' performance and how he reacted to the setback against Tottenham a week before. The Blues manager said: "Not just today, I think that in Liverpool he was really solid, he had a very good performance, very stable for a 'keeper and today he has shown a good level.

"Another clean sheet, the second one in three games and we need to keep going. Mike has overcome the difficult moment that we got here last Saturday and this is part of the development of a goalkeeper, of any player."

After Penders' blunder against Spurs, some Chelsea supporters were left counting down the days until Martinez is back from his injury, although we have been given no official timeframe. Sources close to Chelsea say the Argentine goalkeeper could return earlier as initially planned, but that would mean wearing a protective mask.

Penders' last two performances, however, have shown Chelsea do not need to rush Martinez back from his fractured jaw. Instead, the Blues could - if they choose to - let the 34-year-old's injury heal naturally before re-integrating him into the side.