Thibaut Courtois eyes 'special' title win after Chelsea struggles last season
Tuesday 9 May 2017 17:33, UK
Thibaut Courtois says winning the Premier League with Chelsea this season will be 'even more special' after their troubles last term.
Jose Mourinho led the Blues to the title in 2015 before they suffered a remarkable slump in form and results the following campaign, with the Portuguese being sacked as manager before Chelsea went on to eventually finish 10th in the table.
However, Antonio Conte's side will be crowned champions if they win away to West Brom on Friday Night Football and Belgium goalkeeper Courtois, who won La Liga during a three-year loan spell at Atletico Madrid before claiming a Premier League title, says the impending triumph will be "very enjoyable" after a difficult spell last year.
Asked to compare winning the title with Chelsea under Mourinho to this season with Conte, Courtois told talkSPORT: "It's hard to say because obviously in the first year I came here, I came from winning the league in Spain and straight away we won the league, so that was very nice.
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"But this year was maybe even more special, because last year was a very bad year. We had a lot of critics, the new manager came in at the beginning of the season, we won some games but then we lost and there were again a lot of critics.
"But then we bounced back as a team very hard and we played very well. From that point of view I think it's very nice to hopefully be able to lift that Premier League title soon.
"I know we're not there yet, but we're very close and it will be very enjoyable after last year."
Chelsea need just three points from their final three games to win the Premier League but Courtois is hoping to seal the title at The Hawthorns, live on Sky Sports 1HD.
"We hope to do it at the first attempt. We know West Brom are a hard team to play against - we had a very tough game here [a 1-0 win at Stamford Bridge in December]," he said.
"Every opponent who goes there has a hard game, they are eighth in the league and have had a very good year."
