Willy Caballero has urged Chelsea fans to forgive Kepa Arrizabalaga and help the goalkeeper bounce back from being left out against Tottenham.

Coach Maurizio Sarri punished Kepa for his refusal to be substituted in the EFL Cup Final on Sunday by replacing him with Caballero in last night’s 2-0 win over Tottenham.

Kepa made a public apology to everyone connected with the club on Monday night but many supporters are still furious with the Spaniard for his act of insubordination at Wembley.

When asked if he hopes Chelsea supporters move on and do not hold the incident against Kepa, Caballero said: “Yes. I think having a game against Spurs helped us. We didn’t speak too much about the issues and what happened. It was good luck for us that we played against Tottenham.

“The people in the stadium were involved in the game. That’s what we needed and we need it as a team in every single game we play at home.

“Top players or experienced players make mistakes because we are human beings, we are people. That’s it.

“The good result of this is we have found a lot of people near to him to help him. We trained very well the next day to prepare for the game.

“The boss decided to put me in the goal and he [Kepa] was supporting me in the warm-up, so I think we are in good harmony. As keepers we must support each other.”

It was reported the two players fell out over what happened during the defeat by Manchester City. Caballero was about to come on for the penalty shoot-out but Kepa ignored the request from Sarri to come off and Chelsea went on to be beaten 4-3.

There were also suggestions Kepa’s behaviour had split the dressing room but Caballero insists their bond has improved because of what took place.

Reflecting on the events of the past few days, the 37-year-old said: “It was a strange situation but everybody who was involved learned something. This just brings something good in the atmosphere of the team.

“We passed the last few days in good harmony, trying to talk about things and how to beat Spurs, and we did it. It was probably very important [what happened] because it was in a final but it doesn’t matter. We improved a lot and we are more together than ever.

“Is everything okay between me and Kepa? Yes, of course. We spoke about it after the incident and it was good to have a chat with him. He learned a lot from what happened, we learned a lot as a team.”

Chelsea’s victory over Spurs has helped Sarri’s bid to keep hold of his job and also improved their hopes of finishing in the top four.

They have five League games before meeting another top-six side, Liverpool, on April 14. Sarri’s side are in sixth place, just three points behind Arsenal, who are fourth, with a game in hand.

Caballero said: “Do we see this run of games as a chance to get back in the top four? Yes. We are focused on that but we need to go step by step.

“Every time we try to see a bit further than one game, we make a mistake so we have to be clear. We are happy with what we achieved against Tottenham but we have to get ready for the next game [on Sunday against Fulham].”

Chelsea were today waiting to hear UEFA’s verdict on their supporters’ anti-Semitic chanting during a Europa League group match at Hungarian club MOL Vidi in December. A partial closure of Stamford Bridge for their next home match in the competition, against Dynamo Kiev on March 7, is among the possible punishments.