Chelsea's most recent pre-season match saw them take on French outfit Paris Saint Germain. After a close game finished at one a piece with goals from Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Victor Moses the match went down to penalties.
This created a big opportunity for Belgium international Courtois to continue to impress and he certainly stepped up, not only by his performance in between the sticks, but also by taking a spot kick himself.
Finishing touches
You would think that saving two penalties within a shootout would be what a goalkeeper is remembered for within a game, but for Courtois it was not the case. Stepping up to take a penalty which turned out to be the winning kick of the game, the 'keeper fired his shot into the back of the net with fantastic power and accuracy.
It was only the second shootout he had ever been involved in at this stage of his career, and his first as a blue. There were no clear signs of nerves or inexperience with either the saves or the shot, his previous experience was with Atletico Madrid also in pre-season, he walked away the loser that day.
Courtois revealed to the club website how he learned to take such impressive penalties stating, "I practice very strong shots in training... sometimes penalty kicks are part of it." It would seem practice certainly does make perfect as PSG’s Salvatore Sirigu couldn't get near it.
The club will now boast two goal scoring goalkeepers, with Asmir Begovic having previously scored a slightly more impressive 91.1 metre goal that earned him a Guinness World Record for football's longest goal.
A good experience
It was his first ever goal as a professional, who is still waiting to compete in a shootout under competitive circumstances. The experience will help the shot stopper should Chelsea find themselves in another shootout, and it seems they have also found a potential take if necessary too.
Speaking of the experience Courtois said, "It's good to practice one in a game... in front of nearly a full stadium in a game is quite different to doing it in training." Hopefully the experience will come in handy should Chelsea face a shootout this season, and Courtois will be hoping for the same results.