Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois has confirmed the team’s readiness to face Juventus in the Champions League on Wednesday evening, in the third round of the group stage, which will be held at the Santiago Bernabeu. He responded strongly to statements made by Barcelona president Joan Laporta.
At the beginning of his statements about reaching his 300th match with the team, Courtois stated: “It is a childhood dream, I feel very proud. Juventus is going through a bad period, but the match will be difficult, and we must show our strength at our stadium with high concentration to achieve a great result.”
Courtois commented on Laporta’s recent statements, in which he alluded to the referees’ bias towards the Royal Club, saying: “Laporta says what he wants to say.. There is the ‘Negreira’ case.. I have never felt that we were favored, quite the opposite. Referees are human, and mistakes happen, and I don’t feel that we were favored.”
The Belgian goalkeeper expressed his opposition to the project of playing in the United States: “This distorts the competition. The league is played home and away, and it is not normal to move matches. This does not adhere to the players’ agreement.”
He added about the defensive system: “We defend as one unit. In the derby, we conceded goals from set pieces, and that can be improved, but in general, we perform in a disciplined manner.”
Regarding the ban on protests against moving some matches to America, he said: “This is clear manipulation, I have never seen a league president interfere in this way. Hiding the message and changing its content is dangerous.”
Vinicius’s crises:
Courtois stressed that the way competitors treat Vinicius is unfair.
He continued: “Vinicius was subjected to clear provocations in the last match against Getafe, he played well and changed the match. Many were mocking him at the age of 18, but now he is one of the best in the world.”
He continued talking about Vinicius’s personality on the field: “It is not easy to face fans, kicks, and provocations, but he has become more mature. If he can get the opponent out of the match like Diego Costa used to, it is in our favor, provided he remains focused.”
Regarding the offside rule changes proposed by FIFA, he added: “There are more important things that need to be modified before that. Strict seconds cannot be counted on goalkeepers while teams are left to waste time on throw-ins.”
About El Clasico and preparing for major matches, he explained: “The tactical preparation is the same, but the motivation is doubled. When the Bernabeu turns into a volcano, we cannot be stopped. The fans give us extra energy to continue in the most difficult moments of the match.”
Regarding the team’s ambition in the Champions League, he explained: “Leading the group facilitates the path and saves you a difficult week in February.. The start is excellent, but we still have tough matches ahead.”
He concluded his speech on whether he prefers Vinicius to ignore provocations, saying: “What matters to me is that he performs strongly and continues to score. In the Getafe match, it was clear that they were trying to push him out of focus, and the referee protected him in the scene where the opponent deserved to be sent off.”
A remarkable history:
The match between Real Madrid and Juventus brings back to mind a remarkable history of classic encounters between the two teams, most notably the 1998 final when Real won its first title since 1966 thanks to Predrag Mijatović’s goal, as well as the 2017 final, which Real won 4-1 thanks to Cristiano Ronaldo’s brace, to win its twelfth title in the tournament.
As for Juventus’s last visit to the Bernabeu, it was painful for its fans, after the Italian club considered that English referee Michael Oliver wronged them when he awarded Real a penalty in stoppage time, from which Ronaldo scored the goal to advance to the semi-finals despite the team losing 1-3.
It is worth mentioning that Real had won the first leg in Turin with a clean sheet of three goals, including Ronaldo’s famous acrobatic goal, which prompted Juventus fans to applaud him for a long time in a moving scene, which played a role in his decision to later move to the ranks of the “Old Lady.”
Renewed encounter after the Club World Cup:
The last match that brought the two teams together was last July in the round of 16 of the Club World Cup in its new system, and Real Madrid won that day with a goal from Gonzalo Garcia.
Real enters Wednesday’s match as a strong candidate to achieve its third consecutive victory and raise its score to 9 points from three matches, after defeating Marseille of France (2-1) and Kairat of Kazakhstan (5-0), in addition to leading the Spanish League with eight victories out of nine matches.
Juventus under pressure and “Tudor” in trouble:
On the other hand, Juventus is going through a difficult period under the leadership of its Croatian coach, Igor Tudor, after the team failed to achieve any victory in 6 consecutive matches, including two matches in the Champions League that ended in two exciting draws against Borussia Dortmund (4-4) and Villarreal of Spain (2-2).
Juventus suffered its first defeat in the Italian League against Como (0-2) on Sunday, which increased the pressure on Tudor, who said in statements after the match: “I am always worried, this is the life of a coach. You have to constantly think about how to improve performance, and we will discuss that inside the dressing room.”
Real Madrid continues to win despite difficulties:
Despite Real’s recent victory in the Spanish League against Getafe (1-0) thanks to the French “Kylian Mbappé” goal in the last ten minutes, Real struggled a lot in the match that the home team completed with 9 players.
But coach “Xabi Alonso” seemed satisfied with his team’s performance, saying: “The players faced the match with courage, and they managed to adapt to the circumstances. Their focus was high, and we are going to next week with positive energy.”
source: 961 today
