Football
Jack Rathborn, Transfer writer 7y

Chelsea's Thibaut Courtois knew of Robbie Brady's quality from free kicks

Thibaut Courtois has said he knew Robbie Brady was capable of scoring from the free kick that ultimately cost Chelsea a win on Sunday.

Chelsea had taken the lead early on through Pedro in search of a 12-point lead at the top of the table.

But the Irishman's stunning free kick drew the sides level and ensured Antonio Conte's men only stretched their lead to 10 points, with the Belgian goalkeeper crediting his opponent's quality.

"We then conceded the free kick and with the quality of Robbie Brady you knew it could be a goal," Courtois told Chelsea's official website, despite it being almost four years since the Blues last conceded from a direct free kick through Rickie Lambert in March 2013.

"He shot it very well and then we couldn't repeat our game from the first 15-20 minutes. I got a bit of a finger on it but obviously not enough.

"It was a fantastic free kick, with pace, and right in the corner so it was very hard."

Manchester City could close the gap at the top to eight points with a win over Bournemouth on Monday night, but Courtois remains confident his side can see the job through in pursuit of their fifth Premier League crown.

"We just take it game by game and we don't look at who is behind us," the 24-year-old added. "We just try to win our games and we will see.

"We still have to go to West Ham and Stoke, they're always hard, but we have to work like we have been doing for the past months and we will be fine."

A respite from the frantic Premier League title race is next for Chelsea, with the fifth-round FA Cup tie against Wolves on Saturday, before a chance to return to winning ways in the league against Swansea City at Stamford Bridge a week later.

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