Courtois: “We will try to get some rest as we look to keep on winning”

Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois was the team’s Man of the Match against Athletic Bilbao, completing an excellent performance and proving the world and FIFA that he’s arguably the world’s best goalkeeper right now.

Courtois recapped the game and was satisfied with Madrid’s overall performance, even if Athletic had plenty of chances to score the equalizer.

“We did really well in the first half, maybe we didn’t create many chances, but we had a lot of shots. The goal came and in the second half they came out more aggressively and we weren’t as accurate in our passing. In the last 15 minutes we made it difficult for ourselves because we needed more composure and to relieve some pressure. They had some chances, but in the end it was 1-0 and three precious points,” he said.

The Belgian keeper admitted that his teammates struggled after Athletic’s substitutions, suggesting that fatigue could’ve been an issue.

“We’re playing a lot of matches in a row and sometimes you try to save yourself a bit, but in a match against an opposition like this you can’t do that. They played with great intensity after the changes and that’s when we struggled to make the right passes. I think if we had managed to relieve that pressure we could’ve scored the second or third. Anything can happen until the final whistle,” he explained.

Then, Courtois looked ahead and discussed Real Madrid’s upcoming schedule, admitting that this could be a decisive stretch for Los Blancos.

“We’re playing very well at the minute, we’ve dropped a few points along the way, but are doing well on the whole. We’ve got a big game against Real Sociedad on Saturday, then we play Inter as we look to finish top of the group before we move in to the derby. It’s non-stop and we’re going to try to get some rest as we look to keep on winning,” he added.

Courtois concluded his media debrief by praising Karim Benzema, who fell short and couldn’t win the Ballon D’Or this season.

“I think Benzema deserves it, but it’s a strange award. If you look at the people who are up there, they’ve won the Copa America, Euros or Champions League, and that’s the way it always is. Apparently the year is only about one or two cups and that’s all they see, not the whole year. Hopefully we’ll win some trophies this year and he’ll win it next year,” explained the keeper.