The Belgian goalkeeper endured disappointment in last weekend’s defeat to Spurs, when an unfortunate own-goal from a corner helped the visitors claim all three points at Stamford Bridge.

But the 21-year-old has responded impressively, producing a string of fine saves against Liverpool in midweek before keeping a clean sheet in Saturday’s Premier League triumph over United.

‘To have something like that is part of football and part of my journey,’ Penders reflected on the Tottenham setback.

‘You will make mistakes, but then it’s about how you react, and I am very happy I could bring some positivity on the pitch today.’

Penders certainly played his part in our return to winning ways, making important interventions as United threatened during a closely contested first half.

He twice denied Amad Diallo before producing arguably his finest moment deep into stoppage time, getting his fingertips to Bryan Mbeumo’s powerful effort from distance and diverting the ball onto the crossbar.

It was a superb piece of goalkeeping that preserved our two-goal advantage and ensured the Blues finished the afternoon with a clean sheet.

‘It was a very hard shot and I didn’t see him coming,’ Penders explained. ‘But in the end, I was able to get my fingers onto it and I was very happy [to make that save].’

The victory was particularly welcome after consecutive defeats against Tottenham and Liverpool, the latter coming via a penalty shoot-out in the Carabao Cup.

Penders was pleased with the character shown by Xabi Alonso’s side in responding to those setbacks.

‘I think as a team as well, we have reacted very well after the last two games. I think against Liverpool we played a good game, and today we did a great job.’

Saturday’s contest was far from straightforward, with United having a first-half goal from Matheus Cunha ruled out for offside.

However, Morgan Rogers broke the deadlock shortly after the interval with a superb individual effort before Cole Palmer doubled our advantage from the penalty spot.

For Penders, the key to securing all three points was maintaining composure, even when the visitors threatened.

‘I think we just played our football. We stayed calm and were very controlled in our game. I think that was very important.

‘Of course, sometimes they have chances. For example, the goal that was disallowed in the first half. But it’s important to keep your head in the game and that’s what we did. It was a good win for us.’