Jose Mourinho has said Chelsea do not miss goalkeeper Petr Cech and is sure his side will cope well without the suspended Thibaut Courtois when they visit Manchester City on Sunday.
Mourinho was not keen on allowing Cech, 33, to join London rivals Arsenal after 11 successful seasons with the champions, but the manager says he is happy with the goalkeeping options at his disposal.
“We don’t miss Petr,” Mourinho was quoted as saying by the British media. “We’ve got a good keeper, the problem with Petr is not that we miss him because we have two excellent keepers. The problem with Petr is that an opponent is better than before.”
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Cech opted to move to Arsenal after finding himself playing second fiddle to Belgian international Courtois, who Chelsea recalled from loan at Atletico Madrid last season.
Chelsea bought Stoke City keeper Asmir Begovic as a backup to Courtois following Cech’s transfer.
“Thibaut and Asmir are two fantastic keepers. My club did very well by getting a keeper on time and not on the August 31,” Mourinho said.
Courtois is banned for the match at the Etihad Stadium after he was sent off against Swansea City for a foul on striker Bafetimbi Gomis, which earned their opponents a penalty and allowed them to draw the game 2-2.
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