Chelsea fans fume as Courtois kisses Real Madrid badge after chants

In pictures: Chelsea v Real Madrid

Thibaut Courtois hit back at Chelsea fans taunting him on his return to his former club after the Real Madrid goalkeeper was spotted kissing the badge to rile up the home fans at Stamford Bridge. The Belgian had been subjected to expletive-filled chants in the warm-up to the Champions League quarter-final second leg fixture and responded with a cheeky gesture to the furore of the home supporters.

Courtois has had to endure a frosty reception from Chelsea fans three times in as many seasons after the two clubs were paired against each other in the Champions League. And there were loud boos emanating from all sections of the ground as he warmed up on the pitch.

Chants of “Thibaut, you’re a c***, Thibaut, Thibaut you’re a c***” were also picked up by the TV microphones that were pitchside as the 29-year-old was given less than a warm welcome on his return to the club where he spent seven years as a player.

But the world-class stopper had his moment for sweet revenge when he tipped wide an effort from Marc Cucurella and celebrated the save by taunting the home fans.

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Courtois turned to the home fans in the Matthew Harding stand and slyly kissed the badge of his orange goalkeeper shirt as he took a drink from his bottle. That only frustrated the Chelsea fans more as they somehow failed to open the scoring in the first half.

Frank Lampard’s side went into the second leg with nothing to lose after a 2-0 loss in the first leg in Spain, with Karim Benzema and Marco Asensio scoring the goals. And they had chances to take the lead with N’Golo Kante and Cucurella both squandering golden opportunities.

The Spaniard, in particular, should have done much better when he struck straight at Courtois from inside the six-yard box, with the goalkeeper making himself huge inside his goal.

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A number of players have joined Madrid in recent years from Chelsea, including Eden Hazard and Antonio Rudiger.

But Courtois’ relationship with the supporters has deteriorated after he left the club by forcing a move away in 2018, refusing to sign a new deal.

He joined Madrid in a £35m transfer and the Blues replaced him with Kepa Arrizablaga. Since then, Courtois has won the Champions League and La Liga, and taken several shots at his former club.

And it seems there is no love lost between the two after his most recent gesture, with Courtois hoping to have the last laugh at the end of the tie as the semi-finals await.

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