Chelsea hopeful of sealing title at West Brom: Courtois

Leaders Chelsea want to beat West Bromwich Albion on Friday to become Premier League champions, goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois has said, as he sets his sights on lifting the trophy for the second time in three years at the club.

Chelsea beat Middlesbrough 3-0 on Monday to move seven points clear at the top of table after second-placed Tottenham Hotspur lost 1-0 at West Ham United last Friday.

The leaders need three points from their last three games to seal the title and Courtois said that they wanted to win it as soon as possible with a victory over a tough West Brom side.

“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,” Courtois told British media, referring to Chelsea’s 1-0 win over West Brom at Stamford Bridge in December.

“Every opponent who goes there has a hard game. They are eighth in the league and have had a very good year.”

Courtois joined Chelsea in 2011 and had three year-long loan spells at Atletico Madrid but returned to the London side in 2015 when Chelsea won the title under former manager Jose Mourinho.

The 24-year-old said this season’s title triumph will be special due to their inconsistent 2015-16 campaign that saw them finish 10th.

“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,” Courtois added.

“This year was maybe even more special, because last year was a very bad year... The new manager came in at the beginning of the season, we won some games but then we lost, and there was again a lot of criticism,” he said.

“We’re very close, and it will be very enjoyable after last year.”