The Belgian goalkeeper has been subjected to trolls and slander by football fans for failing to keep out Lionel Messi and his cohorts as Chelsea crashed out of the UEFA Champions League. The Barcelona No. 10, in his history-making night, placed two balls through the legs of the 25-year-old shot-stopper to seal a 4-1 aggregate victory for his rampant Barcelona side.
Speaking to BT Sport after the nightmarish encounter, an overtly frank Courtois shrugged off the criticisms surrounding the manner in which he conceded both goals off the boot of the talismanic Argentine.
"Obviously, I played against him a lot of times and I have already conceded goals through my legs against him.
“For a goalkeeper like me, from two meters, between my legs is the weakest point.
“Obviously, if I am standing in a normal position, there is a lot of space in-between and it’s annoying but I don’t think I have to hide it,” Courtois added with a brief laughter.
“I have to be a man and admit that I made a mistake and move on.”
"You need to be a man, and show that you made a mistake."
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) March 14, 2018
"For a goalkeeper like me between my legs is the weakest point."
An honest Thibaut Courtois fronted up after the game...
@DesKellyBTS pic.twitter.com/KMeke4BZVm
The former Atletico Madrid man will now look to help his 5th-placed team to fight for a top-four spot in the English Premier League while they also aim to go all the way for FA Cup glory.
