Despite suffering an arm injury earlier in the week, Thibaut Courtois played through pain during Real Madrid’s 4-0 loss to Manchester City on Wednesday. The goalkeeper’s heroic effort included denying Erling Haaland three times, but unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to prevent the heavy defeat.
Carlo Ancelotti’s side succumbed to an outstanding performance from the Citizens, who brushed the Spanish giants aside during the return leg of their Champions League semi-final tie, to advance to the final 5-1 on aggregate.
Bernardo Silva struck twice in the opening 40 minutes of the match, spelling deep concerns for Los Blancos, with Manuel Akanji and Julian Alvarez, following up late in the second half, to see Madrid suffer their 11th defeat of the season.
It’s been a difficult week all-round for the club, who may have found themselves in hot water following their 1-0 win against Getafe at the weekend, after they made an illegal substitution during the match and could have that win overturned.
While that is still yet to be confirmed, according to The Athletic, Courtois ‘tore a muscle in his arm’ during the game against Getafe, and played with the injury during last night’s Champions League defeat.
Thibaut Courtois reportedly ‘played through an injury’ during Real Madrid’s loss by Man City
City will advance to the Champions League final after the 4-0 win, but Courtois was a stand out
The shot-stopper pulled off several stunning saves to deny Manchester City’s Erling Haaland
The outlet are also reporting that he ‘underwent treatment in the days after the match’ but ‘played through the pain’ during the game at the Etihad.
Despite conceding four goals, Courtois was one of the best performers in Real Madrid’s starting eleven last night.
He was largely out-foxed by Bernardo Silva for the first goal, but pulled off some sensational saves during the match, denying Erling Haaland twice in the early stages of the game, once with a simply sensational diving save to palm the striker’s header wide.
He’d be back again to deny the forward, coming out to meet him one-on-one as the Norwegian found himself in a dangerous position just on the edge of the six-yard box, but the Belgian shot-stopper, slid down low, just at the right time, to send his shot up and over the bar.
Despite his heroics last night, he could not inspire his side to the victory, with Madrid failing to get on the score sheet themselves, with Kyle Walker putting up a defensive masterclass to quiet prolific winger Vinicius Jr.
The loss spells what’s been a frustrating season for Real Madrid, who despite winning the Copa del Rey for the 20th time in their history, had to watch their fierce rivals, Barcelona, celebrate winning LaLiga at the weekend.
And after last night’s loss to City, the shot-stopper was clearly frustrated with his team’s performance, lauding their opponents while criticising the way his side lost.
But it was reported that he had suffered ‘a torn muscle in his arm’ during a LaLiga game against Getafe the week prior
Bernardo Silva got two past the Madrid keeper early on in the match to give City a 2-0 lead
Manuel Akanji (left) scored the third goal for the home side before Julian Alvarez got the fourth
It was the 11th loss of the season for Carlo Ancelotti’s side who looked dejected after the match
He said: ‘We’ll have to watch it back because it’s not easy to see the game from the goal-line. We took a while to make any fouls, the second balls all fell to them and we missed a lot of easy passes.
‘Anyway, it’s not easy to hurt them if we spend the whole time chasing the ball. We had to win the ball back more quickly and stream forward because they always had seven or eight guys in our half but we just didn’t manage to do it.
‘The way we lost is the worst thing. You can lose a game in extra time or on penalties, 2-1 or 1-0. That can hurt if you’ve given your all on the pitch. But it’s a very heavy defeat.
‘We have to be proud of the way we’ve come this far. It’s tough to fall short just before the final, but we lost to a great team. In the English League they are unstoppable. This wasn’t our best game and if we’re not at our best this happens.’
