Thibaut Courtois says Chelsea must beat Manchester United on Sunday if they want to have a chance of retaining the Premier League title.
Chelsea welcome Jose Mourinho’s side to Stamford Bridge and Courtois called on his team-mates to give everything to ensure they earn three vital points.
“Manchester City are already nine points ahead of us, Manchester United four and Tottenham one,” Courtois said.
“We must win games like these to remain at the top and close to the other ones.
“We will try to get the three points and will give our lives for it on Sunday.”
Chelsea have kept only one clean sheet in all competitions since September and head coach Antonio Conte urged his side to “dig deeper”, following their first defeat in the Champions League this season against Roma.
El Shaarawy scored twice against Courtois on Tuesday, before Diego Perotti sealed Roma’s 3-0 win in the 63rd minute.
“We have to react on Sunday as the Roma defeat was a bad image of ourselves”, Courtois added.
“We have to find that balance again and rediscover that mentality of not conceding goals and keeping clean sheets.”
Mourinho, who saw his side edge closer to the Champions League last 16 with a 2-0 win over Benfica, will relish the chance to face his old club after Chelsea beat his United side twice at Stamford Bridge last season.
COMMENTS