Thibaut Courtois has admitted that the disappointment of finishing 10th in the Premier League last season spurred Chelsea on to glory this time around.
The Blues followed up their title-winning campaign of 2014-15 in dismal fashion, only recovering once Jose Mourinho had been dismissed to eventually finish just inside the top half.
Normal service was resumed this term, though, as Chelsea stormed to a second top-flight crown in three years by holding off Tottenham Hotspur, which Courtois says was the best way to respond to the club's critics.
"This is amazing, especially after last year," he is quoted as saying by The Mirror. "We had a lot of critics. There was a lot of laughter towards us. So to come back in this way, to be champions, is a good answer.
"Obviously after last year, when we had a moment when we were 16th in the league, people laughed. When you get criticised, obviously it's not nice just after a season when you had won the league.
"Some of the criticism was deserved and some was not. But we have bounced back, winning the title again, and that's amazing."
Courtois has started 35 of Chelsea's 36 league games this season, keeping a total of 16 clean sheets.
Daniel Lewis
