Chelsea FC at West Bromwich Albion: Post-Match Reflections
Thibaut Courtois
By saving James Morrison’s penalty on Sunday, the 23-year old Belgian may just have redeemed himself after his foul on Gomis earned him a red-card and Swansea the equalising goal on the first matchday of the season. I can only imagine how difficult things may have been for the Blues if Morrison’s straight penalty hadn’t been saved by the feet of Courtois.
The Chelsea goalkeeper, along with Victor Moses, was one of the best players in preseason, and he clearly used the experience to improve on his penalty saving skills after helping the Blues to 2 penalty shoot-out victories against PSG and Barcelona. He may have failed to keep a clean sheet in his 2 appearances this season, but anyone would be hard-pressed to find an area where he was at fault for any of the 3 goals he has conceded.
With improvements in defence expected as the season progresses (we are talking about Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea… the shambolic defending will definitely come to an end sooner rather than later!), Courtois may just be one of the key players for the Blues this season, especially with a top goalkeeper like Asmir Begovic breathing down his neck.
Next: Chelsea FC 3-2 West Brom Player Ratings