Jose Mourinho has paid tribute to Chelsea goalkeeper Thibaurt Courtois for the way in which he responded to his first-half mistake in this afternoon’s 3-2 win at Hull City.
The Belgian was culpable for Hull’s equaliser with a rare error after a calamitous touch from a Branislav Ivanovic back pass helped Abel Hernandez complete Hull’s comeback on 28 minutes.
However, Courtois made amends for his blip with a series of impressive second-half saves – including three in quick succession – to frustrate the hosts before Loic Remy snatched a 77th-minute winner.
“Thibaut Courtois is a big player,” a relieved Mourinho, who saw his side restore their six-point lead over second-placed Manchester City, told BBC Sport at full time.
“He made a mistake but the important thing was to be there in the second half for the team and he was.”
The Blues raced into a 2-0 lead inside 10 minutes when Eden Hazard and Diego Costa ran amok early on at the KC Stadium.
Ahmed Elmohamady threw the Tigers a lifeline on 27 minutes, before Hernandez levelled up 76 seconds later, but Courtois’s second-half heroics denied the hosts.
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Candidly speaking,I don’t Courtois should be blamed totally for the equalizer by Hull. I think Ivanovic should share part of the blame. Why should he pass the ball to the right foot of the keeper when he knew he was left footer? Though,a nice player,Ivanovic had a bad game today.