Thibaut Courtois was spotted kissing the Real Madrid badge after denying Marc Cucurella from close range during Chelsea's clash against Real Madrid in the Champions League quarter-final. The 30-year-old goalkeeper has always played the role of pantomime villain whenever he faces his former side after leaving the Blues on bad terms.
After refusing to sign a new contract at Stamford Bridge, he left for the Santiago Bernabeu on a free transfer in 2018. Despite a rich tenure in west London, winning two Premier League titles and an FA Cup, Courtois is a largely unpopular figure among supporters – and he appears to be relishing the pantomime villain role by adding fuel to the fire.
Ahead of his return to Chelsea with Real Madrid, the Belgium international admitted that he's been surprised by the Blues' misfortunes this season. As quoted by the Mirror, Courtois said: "Honestly, I don’t understand how Chelsea are failing in the Premier League.
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"They have players of a world level who are able to achieve success — although I hope the bad run continues on Tuesday. We are obliged to play very much with our heads and to forget the advantage we have from the Bernabeu.
"The team is prepared for a difficult match in London. Chelsea maybe in crisis in terms of their points in the Premier League but they are always a difficult rival. There doesn’t exist an easy English rival.
"Chelsea have an obligation to attack as they search for a goal and maybe that means we can manage the situation better. We hope for a tactical match not a crazy match from the first minute."
In April, when Chelsea and Real Madrid met in the Champions League last year, Courtois responded to the hostile welcome he received. Speaking to BT Sport, he said: "Obviously I knew it wouldn’t be friendly, especially in the stadium.
"Maybe if you see some people outside the ground they will be more friendly. It’s obviously part of football, that’s unfortunate because how they painted my departure was not how it went through.
"But I’m happy with the result and I will always care about the special moments here at the Bridge, two leagues… it’s not easy to win two Premier Leagues in four years, so I’m happy for that and the moments here, so what happened today I don’t take it too much."
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