Asmir Begovic wants another opportunity in Chelsea’s first team after seizing his unexpectedly early chance to impress manager Jose Mourinho.
Thibaut Courtois’ one-game suspension for his red card against Swansea on the opening weekend of the season allowed Begovic to make his full debut in Sunday’s 3-0 defeat at Manchester City.
Although the Blues were outplayed by their Premier League title rivals, Begovic made a string of fine saves from Sergio Aguero to keep City at bay in the first half and was one of the few Chelsea players to emerge with any credit on a difficult afternoon at the Etihad Stadium.
Courtois is expected to return to the starting line-up for this weekend’s trip to West Brom but Begovic insists he is not content merely to sit on the bench following his £8million summer move from Stoke.
“In football, you never know what can happen - I came here to compete and be part of the squad, part of this club which is very exciting for me,” he told Standard Sport.
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“When I am called to play, that’s all I can really do and say. Things like the other week can happen sometimes. They are unpredictable but I am here to perform and contribute as much as I can.
“I was obviously delighted to start the game but it was obviously difficult in the end. We kept fighting and tried to stay in the game as long as we could but the second goal killed it and made life very difficult for us. It was not the start we wanted after the first couple of games with only one point on the board but there is plenty of time to claw it back and recoup those points.
“We still have a strong squad. We just need things to click for us. We are getting our sharpness, training has been competitive and strong. A couple of things are not quite going our way right now but this is no time to start feeling sorry for ourselves, we have to pick ourselves up quickly, improve and pick up points.”
