Thibaut Courtois admitted his outstanding first-half save from Dominik Szoboszlai “wasn’t exactly a save from the goalkeeper’s manual” as Real Madrid fell to a 1-0 defeat to Liverpool on Tuesday.
Courtois made a total of eight saves at Anfield, with the highlight coming in the 27th minute, when the keeper denied Szoboszlai in a one-on-one at point-blank range.
The result is Madrid’s first Champions League defeat this season after beginning the European campaign with three wins — and ties away at Olympiacos, and at home to Manchester City, coming up next.
“You have to occupy space,” Courtois told Movistar, when asked about the Szoboszlai save. “Szoboszlai was on his own, and if I stayed on the goal line it would have been almost like a penalty, it would be impossible to stop.
“I wanted to go for the cross, but it would have been too dangerous. I’m two metres tall, I have long arms, I threw myself at it with everything. I made myself big. It wasn’t exactly a save from the goalkeeper’s manual, but it worked.”
Courtois admitted that Madrid “lacked a bit in the final third” and “lost too many duels” at Anfield, as they managed an expected goals stat of just 0.45, compared to Liverpool’s 2.58.
“We didn’t have enough possession in the other half, and that’s where we want to play,” Courtois said. “That’s where we have to improve away from home, against good teams… We could play better. These games are decided by details, and that’s what happened. We must stay calm, we’re OK. If we win at Olympiacos, we’re still in a good place to get into the top eight.”
Madrid beat Barcelona in El Clásico last month, but have now lost games against Paris Saint-Germain, Atlético Madrid and now Liverpool under coach Xabi Alonso.
“There are different ways of losing,” Alonso said on Tuesday. “Today’s game is very different to [the 5-2] at the Metropolitano [against Atletico]. Today we gave everything, competed, the attitude was good. We lacked some things we should improve.”
Alonso denied that he’d seen a lack of intensity from his team.
“No, I don’t have that feeling,” he said. “I think we competed well… Thibaut kept us in it, the goal gave them the advantage, but I can’t criticise the team… We leave with a bad taste in our mouths because of the defeat, but we have to keep going.”
“I think [Liverpool] slightly edged it,” midfielder Jude Bellingham said. “They brought a bit more in the second half, and they’re really dangerous from set pieces…. It’s still really early in the season. We were a lot worse off last year [in the Champions League] and managed to get through. We can’t let this ruin what we’re doing.”
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