Football News

News » Premier League news » Chelsea news

Thibaut Courtois reacts to Antonio Rudiger's error in Roma defeat

Thibaut Courtois reacts to Antonio Rudiger's error in Roma defeat


Thibaut Courtois reacts to Antonio Rudigers error in Roma defeat

Courtois insists Rudiger misunderstood his instructions

Chelsea goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois feels Antonio Rudiger may have misheard his instructions in the lead-up to Roma's second goal last night. The Blues endured one of their worst displays in Champions League history after they succumbed to a 3-0 defeat to Roma at the Stadio Olimpico.

Antonio Conte went with a relatively full-strength squad despite the weekend Manchester United game, and the Blues were stunned within a minute after a tremendous volley from Stephan El Shaarawy.

The English champions were mostly wasteful in the forward department, and this came to haunt them in the final minutes of the first-half as former Roma man Rudiger allowed El Shaarawy to score his second on the night.

Diego Perotti completed the rout with a cool finish past Courtois in the second-half, and this has propelled the Giallorossi to the top of their Champions League group, one point ahead of the Blues.

Speaking after the game, Courtois admitted that he asked Rudiger to clear his lines, but he, unfortunately, could not hear his instructions with the crowd noise.

"The second goal is a bit unfortunate. It’s a long baly wast, I saw El Shaarawy go in the back of Toni (Rudiger), I shout ‘away’ – maybe he understood something else," he said, as per Metro.

Courtois single-handedly kept the scores respectable with top-notch saves to keep both Radja Nainggolan and Edin Dzeko out, and he is now expecting a strong reaction from the Blues versus United this weekend.

He added: "We have to fight back on Sunday against Manchester United,’ he said. ‘Sometimes last season I had nothing to do in a game, sometimes I’d have one save to make. ‘We have to react on Sunday as today was a bad image of ourselves."

Chelsea are already nine points behind table-toppers Manchester City, and any further setback could end their hopes of retaining the Premier League title this term.