Courtois backed to rise to challenge posed by parent club

Atletico Madrid boss Diego Simeone insists Thibaut Courtois has the same single-minded focus as his team-mates as the Belgium goalkeeper prepares to face his parent club Chelsea in tonight’s Champions League semi-final first leg at the Vicente Calderon Stadium.

The 21-year-old is on loan at Atletico for a third successive season and, in line with Uefa rules, is free to play the Blues as the teams compete for a place in the May 24 final in Lisbon against Real Madrid or defending champions Bayern Munich.

It was reported that Chelsea would demand the Spanish side pay a fee of around €3m for each game in accordance with their confidential loan agreement, but Uefa announced it expected Courtois to be free to face the Blues.