UCL: Courtois reacts to Chelsea boos, pities Mendy
Courtois said he has sympathy for Mendy following his error which allowed Benzema to complete his hat-trick.
Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois brushed off the boos from Chelsea’s supporters during Real Madrid’s Champions League win at Stamford Bridge and admits he has sympathy for Edouard Mendy following his mistake.
Madrid are in pole position to reach the Champions League semi-final after securing a 3-1 victory over Chelsea on Wednesday evening.
Two brilliant headers from Benzema put Madrid in front after 24 minutes before Kai Havertz pulled a goal back for Chelsea.
But an error by Mendy and Antonio Rudiger allowed Benzema to complete his hat-trick shortly after the restart.
Courtois, meanwhile, was booed and jeered by Chelsea fans in his first game back at Stamford Bridge with supporters inside the stadium since his move to Madrid.
When asked about the hostile reception he received from Chelsea’s supporters, Courtois told BT Sport: ‘Obviously I knew it wouldn’t be friendly, especially in the stadium.
‘Maybe if you see some people outside the ground they will be more friendly.
‘It’s obviously part of football, that’s unfortunate because how they painted my departure was not how it went through
‘But I’m happy with the result and I will always care about the special moments here at the Bridge, two leagues… it’s not easy to win two Premier Leagues in four years, so I’m happy for that and the moments here, so what happened today [the boos] I don’t take it too much.’
Courtois also said he has sympathy for Mendy following his error which allowed Benzema to complete his hat-trick.
‘Yeah, that’s unfortunate,’ said the Belgian.
‘There are things that happen unfortunately in football for us goalkeepers, you miss a pass there’s no one behind you who can save it.
‘He gave Chelsea a lot of points last year, he helped them to win the Champions League, so I don’t think they will blame him too much.
‘But I understand for him it will be a hard evening but he will bounce back.’
‘I think we defended well,’ said Courtois.
‘I think the problem for their goal was we were too deep in our area and then you invite them to put crosses.
‘The same happened in the second half, Romelu had two good headers that were away. That’s something we need to do better in the home game. We cannot give them hope to score an early goal and then maybe a second.’
