adminSWANSEA. — Guus Hiddink defended his decision to rest goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois after a 1-0 loss at Swansea condemned Chelsea to a first English Premier League soccer defeat under their interim manager.
Hiddink left Belgium international Courtois on the bench at the Liberty Stadium on Saturday, preferring to name Bosnia’s Asmir Begovic in his starting line-up. Begovic did little wrong as Gylfi Sigurdsson’s 25th minute goal effectively sealed Swansea’s Premier League survival and left Chelsea mired in mid-table obscurity. Hiddink insisted leaving out Courtois made sense because he wanted to give Begovic a chance to impress at a time when Chelsea are already preparing for incoming manager Antonio Conte’s arrival after Euro 2016. — AFP.
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