Chelsea goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois has conceded six goals in the two UEFA Champions League group stage matches against AS Roma. The Serie A side is just a horrible match-up for the Belgian, for whatever reason that may be. Last night, Courtois and company lost 3-0 to Roma, and the lack of effort prompted Blues boss Antonio Conte to absolutely lay into his team, calling out their inferior desire and effort.
Conte said his team played with less desire and hunger than their opposition, and Thibaut Courtois is urging his teammates to show that the lackluster effort last night was just a one-off. He’s calling on his teammates to respond positively against Manchester United on Sunday.
“We felt good at half-time because we played well, but I don’t know why in the second half we dropped our fighting spirit and our mentality,” he said in an interview with BT.
“We have to fight back on Sunday and show the fans this was an off day.”
“It’s hard to say what the problem is. Last season, there were games where I had nothing to do and other games I had four or five saves. This season every game is a hard game and we have to find the mentality of clean sheets and not conceding goals.”
Chelsea are favored for what will be the weekend’s biggest clash at Stamford Bridge.
Odds via Ladbrokes: Chelsea- 16/11, United 2/1, Draw 21/10
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net and TheBank.News, which is partnered with News Now and Minute Media. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, currently contributes regularly to WGN CLTV and Chicago Now.
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