Thibaut Courtois was perhaps the only player exempt from criticism as Chelsea slumped to a 2-1 loss to Arsenal in the FA Cup final, the Chelsea goalkeeper conceding twice but also saving Chelsea's bacon a couple times. There wasn't much he could've done on either goal either, only one of which should've actually been allowed.
"The first goal should never have been allowed - it was clearly a handball and then Ramsey was offside because he he was interfering in play. After that goal, we tried to play but they deserved it. Then we went down to 10 men and the red card was correct."
Pressed on the latter point by the BBC's interviewer, Courtois defended his teammate.
"Victor Moses doesn't need to apologise."
-Thibaut Courtois; source: BBC via Metro
Courtois, playing in his first FA Cup final, also spoke of the disappointment of the team failing to perform up to the levels expected, especially after the early goal gave Arsenal all the momentum.
"We are obviously disappointed but I want to say congratulations to Arsenal. They played a good game."
"I wouldn't say we were surprised because for the last four or five games in the league, Arsenal upped their game so we expected a hard game. When you score, you get momentum and can build on that. We tried but obviously not enough. If you play in a final you build up to that and maybe they did that more because we already won the league."
-Thibaut Courtois; source: BBC via Sports Mole
In the balance of things, the season remains a great one, with 30 wins and 93 points in the league. But losing a Cup final, especially against a bitter rival, is painful and will stay painful for a bit longer. Joy and pain, that's football for you.
Something can give you happiness only when you give it the power to also cause you pain #ChelseaFC @D_Peezy @dandormer @IamHarshDave
— Rajesh Chitnis (@rajeshchitnis) May 27, 2017