give the devil his due

US /ɡɪv ðə ˈdɛvəl hɪz duː/
UK /ɡɪv ðə ˈdɛvəl hɪz duː/
"give the devil his due" picture
1.

to admit that even a bad or disliked person has some good qualities or has done something good

:
I don't like my boss, but to give the devil his due, he's very fair with promotions.
Even though he's our rival, we have to give the devil his due; his team played exceptionally well.