Sanchez's goal should have been disallowed: Chelsea keeper Courtois

Chelsea goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois was disappointed by Alexis Sanchezs opening goal for Arsenal in the FA Cup final, which the recently crowned English Premier League (EPL) champions lost 1-2, and said it should have been disallowed.

Courtois said Sanchez's goal in the fourth minute of the FA Cup final at the Wembley Stadium here on Saturday evening. However, television replays raised doubts on the referee's decision to award the goal.

Courtois asserted that the goal should have been disallowed as Sanchez had committed a handball and his fellow Arsenal forward Aaron Ramsey, who was interfering with play, was in an offside position.

Sanchez opened the scoring after a solo run. Arsenal's Aaron Ramsey was ruled offside but referee Antony Taylor overruled his assistant's decision and allowed Sanchez's goal.

"The first goal should never have been allowed -- it was clearly a hand ball and then Ramsey was offside because he was interfering in play," the goalkeeper was quoted as saying by Chelsea's official website on Sunday.

"I think it was a handball even if it was maybe not deliberate. His hands were not in a natural position. At the start of every season they tell us the rules and at Manchester and now the hands were not where they should be."

"I think it should have been disallowed for that but not only that. If Ramsey was not in an offside position, I could go out and touch the ball but I had to stop because he was there," he added.

Courtois opined that Arsenal gained momentum after that the opening goal and started to take the upper hand. The goalkeeper, however, tried to adopt a positive approach and said the Chelsea players will try harder to win the FA Cup next year.

"They gained momentum after that and they dominated. They could have scored one or two more and we have to accept that as well. We knew they would play well as they have the last weeks. We knew we would face a tough game," the 25-year-old said.

"When we went down to 10 we tried and we scored the goal. We needed to hold on but we were maybe not paying attention. It was a very hard moment after equalising.

"As a team we were not at our best. We tried our best but it wasn't to be. We will try again next year," he added.

--IANS

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