Chelsea goalkeeper Mike Penders was under immense pressure to bounce back from his huge mistake against Tottenham last weekend. The 21-year-old gave Spurs the lead by punching the ball into his own goal from a corner.

Penders had already played in the Blues’ two previous EFL Cup games, but his first Premier League start also felt like his first big test. Having let his team down at Stamford Bridge, the Belgian needed to prove a point against Liverpool on Wednesday.

Xabi Alonso reflects on Mike Penders’ performance vs Liverpool

Mike Penders had little to do in the first half at Anfield other than trying to save Cody Gakpo’s penalty, but he dived the wrong way. However, the Chelsea goalkeeper was called into action several times in the second half, saving shots from Ronald Araujo and Bradley Barcola.

Most of Liverpool’s penalties in the shootout were unstoppable, but Penders did save Ryan Gravenberch’s effort, giving Emmanuel Emegha a chance to win it for Chelsea. Emegha missed, as did Wesley Fofana, meaning the Blues lost the shootout. However, Penders can still be proud of his performance.

Xabi Alonso was pleased to see his No. 2 goalkeeper show great character to bounce back from his howler against Spurs. He admitted it was “very important” that Penders did not have similar issues against Liverpool.

“Yeah, I think it was a solid performance from Mike,” Alonso said, via CBS Sports. “We didn’t concede many chances, so he didn’t have to work a lot.

“But he was quite stable; he was quite solid in his performance and that was very important after Saturday, for sure.”

Another poor performance would not have changed the fact that Penders is one of Europe’s most promising goalkeepers. However, he needs time to develop without growing pressure or every appearance becoming a major talking point in the media.

Penders is set to start against Manchester United in the Premier League on Saturday and Sunderland the following weekend. It remains to be seen whether Emiliano Martinez will return immediately after the November international break following his broken jaw.