Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Courtois: We can’t just relax
THIBAUT COURTOIS has warned Chelsea can’t afford to “relax” – even if the League Cup is not one of their top priorities.
Antonio Conte’s men host Everton tonight in a game that has taken on new significance, following Ronald Koeman’s sacking.
Conte admits he could do without this tie, with his already small squad further stretched due to injuries to N’golo Kante (below), Danny Drinkwater and Victor Moses. Keeper Courtois said: “It’s a cup and, with any cup, you want to win it.
“You want to go far. With injuries, maybe we can’t rotate a lot, so we will have to see what team the manager puts out, but
I don’t think it’s a moment to relax.
“It’s a different kind of pressure than the Champions League, where we’re doing well and want to stay top of the group.
“In the Premier League, we have to fight to keep on winning games and the League Cup is something else, so we must try to do our best and go far.”
Everton have not won for more than a month – losing three and drawing two of their last five games – form that led to Koeman’s dismissal on Monday.
Courtois said: “Everton aren’t playing badly, but they have conceded some sloppy goals and other teams have had more luck.
“This is another competition, though, and they will be ready to win it.”
Youngsters Charly Musonda and Kenedy are both set to be handed another chance by Conte after featuring from the start in the last round against Nottingham Forest.
The Blues boss said: “They are improving and we can see the improvement against Everton, which will be a tough game.”