Petr Cech Preferred Over Thibaut Courtois Because Of Fatigue

One of the surprises on the Chelsea FC team sheet against Everton was the inclusion of Petr Cech in the starting eleven and Thibaut Courtois named to the bench. This was a big time match in the mid-week spotlight and one would expect Jose Mourinho to go with his starting goalkeeper against a versatile Everton attack. Then one recalls that Mourinho has the rare luxury of having a truly world class keeper as his number two and all is well.

More from The Pride of London

Jose Mourinho revealed after the match that he chose to start Petr Cech for two reasons but the primary one was because he felt Courtois was fatigued. Moruinho said, “Courtois played consecutive matches, against Liverpool, Manchester City and Aston Villa, games where he needed to be very focused. Every detail is so important, even when he doesn’t touch the ball, the focus must be permanent and I think a goalkeeper can also be tired. The tiredness isn’t just physical, it’s also from your nervous system.”

He also commended Cech’s work ethic and said, “Petr has been working really well and hard. In every training session I was getting the feeling his condition was magnificent.” The veteran’s leadership was also a factor as Mourinho said, “tonight he was the best option for the team, also in terms of leadership. John Terry was ill this morning and he was probably out of the game until the last minute, so I thought I needed Petr’s personality and capacity to communicate at the back. The decision was good.”

The decision to start Petr Cech turned out to be the correct one as the Czech Republic made two incredible saves to keep a clean sheet. Both came against former Chelsea FC striker Romelu Lukaku who was looking to make the Blues pay for letting him go. The first came when Lukaku found space at the top of the box and let fly a shot towards Cech’s near post. Cech’s body weight was leaning towards the far post but he reacted quickly with his left foot to save it.

The second save was even more incredible as it was a point blank save to deny Romelu Lukaku another chance to be Everton’s hero and Chelsea’s villain. Some wondered if Lukaku would celebrate scoring a goal against his old club but they will have to wait a bit longer to find out despite the incredible chance he was presented.

A low cross found Lukaku lurking less than a yard from Chelsea’s goal and he had the goal gaping and took the simplest of touches to direct the cross towards goal. A goal was all but assured until the shot somehow caromed off Petr Cech’s outstretched leg and out of the box. Lukaku looked incredulous and raised his hands to his face in disbelief. It was the same look that the millions of fans of both clubs watching the match had as they thought “how the hell did he just save that?!”.