Courtois makes honest admission after helping Real Madrid win 4-0 over Malaga
· Yahoo Sports
Real Madrid kept up their winning run at the start of the new La Liga season by beating Malaga last night with a 4-0 scoreline. Before that, they had defeated Espanyol 1-2 away from home and Real Sociedad 4-1 at the Santiago Bernabeu.
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Keeping in view the quality in their squad, the win against La Real must have been valued more by the Merengue players and fans in general. However, one individual who would value the win against Malaga more must be the goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, as this game brought him his first clean sheet of the season.
Overall, the Belgian star did not have a lot to do in the last night’s game. He had to make only a single save, even though the visitors appeared threatening at some points in the game. As Diario AS has reported, the goalkeeper also talked to the media after the game, and commented on his first clean sheet of the season and some aspects of the Real Madrid team.
The Belgian veteran came up with a fair analysis of the game against Malaga:
“The first half was very good. In the last five or ten minutes, we dropped too deep and they created chances. We didn’t play as well in the second half; we had several chances, but we gave them too much of the ball. The fourth goal means the game ends well. 4-0 is a good result.”
Courtois agreed with the interviewer that the second half of the game against Real Sociedad and the first half of the game against Malaga should be the blueprint to follow for this Real Madrid team:
“Yes, of course. That is the way we want to play, with intensity, control, and counter-pressing. If we do that, we have a great year ahead of us. The way we played in the first half is how we have to continue.”
The experienced goalkeeper highlighted the importance of a clean sheet:
“It is important for the confidence of the whole team. The two goals we have conceded in the league could have been avoided. When you go into halftime 3-0 up, it can be a bit of a trap because you relax, they score a goal, and the game can become complicated. The coach told us at halftime that we had to start the second half with the same concentration as if we were 2-0 or 2-1 up.”
Courtois validated Mourinho’s statement that the players already knew about the rotations that were set for this game:
“The coach had already told us on Wednesday that he was going to make several changes. The players are training very well and also deserve to play. If we want to go far in all competitions, we have to count on everyone. Competition is good because it keeps us working and reminds us that our place in the team is not guaranteed.”
Even though this has been only his first clean sheet this season, Thibaut Courtois has still been instrumental for Real Madrid in all the three games. He is once again expected to remain a key ingredient if the Merengues are to win any big trophy this season, and hopefully, he will continue to play at the level the fans have been expecting of him for the last few seasons.