Saturday’s 1-0 win at Crystal Palace ensured we’ve now taken maximum points from our last 11 Premier League matches, stretching back to 1 October, when the run began away at Hull City.

Courtois, who has only been beaten twice in that period, kept a third clean sheet in as many matches at Selhurst Park.

‘It’s going very well,’ said the Chelsea goalkeeper. ‘I didn’t have so much work on Saturday, there was one save low down to my left and I came to claim a couple of high balls well, so after that they had to put the crosses further away from me.

‘In the first 20 minutes of the second half we suffered but I think when Cesc came on we found more balls between the lines and it became calmer for us. We had some good chances, we didn’t take them, but I think we deserved to win.

‘It was a good clean sheet, good work from all the team and another victory so we’re happy. Now we want to enjoy Christmas and after that we have another important game against Bournemouth.’

It was Diego Costa’s first-half header which proved decisive at the weekend, but the striker will miss our Boxing Day game against Bournemouth after picking up a booking. N’Golo Kante is also ruled out through suspension.

‘It’s a big blow because he’s a top striker,’ Courtois said. ‘He scored his 13th goal of the season and he’s in top form. He’s been one booking away for many games now, so if he’d had a bit more luck he would have stayed like that until the New Year, when it’s gone, but hopefully Michy, or whoever the manager plays there, will do well.

‘For the manager, it’s not easy to choose players. With Cesc, Michy, Pedro, Ivanovic and Zouma we had a good bench and to be champions you need not only 11 players, but 18 or 22, the whole squad. We have a good team and we try to prove that every week.’

Courtois went on to praise the response of the team following a couple of disappointing results in September.

‘That defeat to Arsenal hurt us but we’ve come back stronger with the new tactics and system,’ he said. ‘It works well, everybody is doing their job and we keep on winning. The spirit is very important.

‘This week was good because we played against smaller teams but they defend well and it’s hard to break them down. To win all three games 1-0 is very good and we’re happy. We now have two home games in front of our fans so we need to win them both.’



- Thibaut Courtois also features in the latest Chelsea Re-Seen video...