Thibaut Courtois claims Real Madrid deserved to win El Clasico, but highlights Barcelona for praise

There was significantly less debate about El Clasico in the aftermath of the event, compared to the usual ‘polemic’. It was hard to argue the pattern of the game, and even Thibaut Courtois agreed that Barcelona defended well.

Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti claimed that Barcelona did not deserve to win the match, which Thibaut Courtois agreed with during his post-match interview with Movistar+ (via MD).

“We dominated the game but they tried to defend the result after an unlucky goal and it was hard to shoot on goal. It was very difficult. They have won when they did not deserve it. We played a controlled game but we didn’t find the opportunity to score a goal.”

It’s impossible to argue that Los Blancos did not direct play for the majority of the match, registering 65% of the ball possession. However with no shots on target, even Courtois recognised that the Blaugrana did a good job at the back.

“They have defended very well, they concede few goals in La Liga. Sometimes the last pass doesn’t come off. It is to their credit, they have defended very well and we will have to try to win in the second leg.”

Ancelotti would go on to say that he feels Real Madrid have a good chance of winning if they played the same way in Barcelona, and Courtois was in agreement with his manager.

“When you lose against Barça it’s always a bad thing.”

“[The result] is not going to change the focus of the second leg either. We have to win our game and continue. We’ll see how we arrive after the league games we have now.”

Real Madrid rarely enjoy so much control in matches, and perhaps that explains their lack of bite in attack. They tend to thrive on space in attack and more open games, which was evident against Liverpool in the Champions League. Compared with this defeat and their draw with Atletico Madrid, it is clear to see Los Blancos struggle much more when the onus is on them to break down a defence.

Tags Barcelona Copa del Rey El Clasico Real Madrid Thibaut Courtois
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