Every month, Thibaut Courtois speaks during a podcast entitled “Thibaut Talks”, broadcast on his own YouTube channel. For this new video, the Devils goalkeeper obviously returned to his three-star performance against Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League. Without the goal on the wire of Kylian Mbappé, the former Genkois would have been the hero of the evening thanks to his numerous saves which nevertheless keep the people of Madrid alive for the return leg. Among his saves, the penalty against Lionel Messi is the most striking: “Obviously because of the player he is and the status he has, it’s a great moment and it remains a special moment in a career”declared Courtois who remains modest on the scope of this judgment, “It will only matter if we move on to the next round…”
If he doesn’t reveal his “trick” to stop shots on goal, Courtois nevertheless confirms that he often works on this aspect: “I do what most goalkeepers do, I study shooters. Some have a favorite side, another has scored his last three penalties from the same side and feels confident. In the moment, you look at the shooter, you think about it and you go for it. In theory, I already know before the match which side I will dive in the event of a penalty depending on the player who will shoot.”
Courtois has therefore proven it again against PSG, he is having a great season and is undoubtedly in the form of his life. Real Madrid will need him to pass the Parisian obstacle in the return leg of the Champions League. Especially since the people of Madrid are looking for each other at the start of 2022: “We had ups and downs. We didn’t expect to be eliminated from the King’s Cup (Editor’s note: by Bilbao at the start of February) and we have to be honest, the first leg in Paris was not good. In the end, it’s lucky that it’s still so open.”
“The second leg will be different… The Bernabeu has already experienced these kinds of moments, with great comebacks and we hope to achieve the same”chained Courtois, despite everything confident for the people of Madrid.
