Thibaut Courtois has admitted that Chelsea are thriving on the pressure of leading the race for the Premier League title.

The Blues currently sit seven points clear of second-placed Tottenham Hotspur with seven games remaining, and are tipped by many to last the distance.

Courtois admits that their surprise home defeat to Crystal Palace was a sign of complacency, but is confident of the team remaining focused on the home stretch.

The Belgium international told Sky Sports News: "We thrive on [the pressure of leading the table]. I think it's good for us to be under pressure, I think the pressure is more on the teams behind us that need to win to close the gap. We have the pressure to keep winning and to keep the gap at seven points.

"What happened against Palace was maybe we were too relaxed at a certain point. We scored early and were 10 points ahead. But we are confident and you can say it's ours to lose but if at the end somebody finishes above us, they will have deserved it more over the course of 38 games.

"A season is not only 31 or 32 games. Let's see, I think we are doing very well and working very hard, we will do our best to win it."

Chelsea face a difficult run of fixtures in April, with a clash at Manchester United followed by a home game against Southampton and a trip to Everton, as well as an FA Cup semi-final against Tottenham.