Courtois sends a strong message to Barca after Dortmund
Real Madrid have shown character to impose with the 5-2 way against Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday night at Bernabeu on the occasion of the third day of the Champions League. After the match, Thibaut Courtois delivered his impressions and ended up sending a clear message to FC Barcelona.
Real Madrid, always full of surprises in the Champions League, once again achieved something historic this Tuesday evening. Trailing 0-2 at halftime, Carlo Ancelotti’s men mounted a comeback. On a cross from Kylian Mbappe, Rudiger started the comeback around the hour mark. Two minutes later, the French striker made his mark again in the box. Although Mbappe missed his shot, Vinicius Jr was there to put the ball into the net. What followed was a brilliant performance by the Brazilian, who went on to score a hat-trick.
Before reaching that point, Thibaut Courtois, once again crucial in Real Madrid’s goal, saved his team with a world-class stop. After the match, the Belgian goalkeeper spoke with Movistar+ in the mixed zone at Santiago Bernabeu.
“In the first half, we weren’t good, we weren’t pressing well, and they created a lot of danger. They scored two quick goals and had more chances before halftime. We discussed how to improve because if we got the first goal, we could win. After the first goal, we felt we could score more. In the second half, we played with the intensity a Champions League match deserves,” Courtois said.
While analyzing the match, which saw Vinicius Jr. score a memorable hat-trick, Courtois also took the opportunity to bring up the upcoming clash against FC Barcelona on Saturday at the Bernabeu. The Red Devils’ goalkeeper appreciated how his teammates finished the match against Borussia Dortmund and emphasized the need to start with the same energy from the first minute in the highly anticipated Clasico.
“Yes, because they played too easily near our box. They could control, look up, and shoot, but I made a good save. We had to wake up and react. This isn’t always going to work; we need to start Saturday as we finished today in the Clasico against FC Barcelona. We’re going to do the same,” he added. FC Barcelona has certainly received Courtois’ message!