Courtois returned (for the second time) to what was his home for four seasons and he did it in a big way: with a formidable collective victory to which he contributed, one more game, with providential saves. The Belgian reciprocated the boos he received from the stands at Stamford Bridge with what he does best: brilliant saves that maintain the value of his teammates’ goals. And he took with him a new night of glory in the history of Real Madrid in the European Cup and the first victory for the Whites against the London team.
The goalkeeper returned to the Chelsea stadium for the second time, but was subjected to the scrutiny of the public for the first time, which could not be in the semifinal of last season due to the pandemic. “I think it’s my past, I won two leagues and two cups here. My memories are nice, maybe the start wasn’t, but I’m coming here with Madrid to win and reach the semi-finals. That’s the important thing”, said Tibu in the previous And that’s what he did.
Havertz prevented him from leaving with a clean sheet, but Courtois left his mark with his saves. First, he prevented his former team from getting ahead on the scoreboard. In the play in which Militao received a yellow card, he responded with a great direct free kick executed by Reece James. Then prevented Chelsea from getting into the game. At the beginning of the second half, already with 1-3 on the scoreboard, he pulled out a superb hand so that Azpilicueta did not close the gap. The Madrid goalkeeper made another two saves and caught three crosses.
Thibaut’s revenge
The last few times Courtois has been the center of a debate. the of how a goalkeeper so decisive for his team, in such a difficult position as defending the Real Madrid goal, was not considered among the nominees for the most prestigious individual awards. Neither the Ballon d’Or nor The Best in the specific categories for goalkeepers included him among the finalists (for France Soccer he was among the ten candidates for the Lev Yashin Award). The latest offense was suffered less than a month and a half ago, when a British magazine, FourFourTwodid not include him among the top ten goalkeepers in the world.
Stamford Bridge was the optimal setting for revenge. In England. In the best showcase, a Champions League tie. And before the goalkeeper who headed that list: Mendy. In case any ingredient was missing, Benzema was in charge of putting it. The pressure from the French striker forced the failure of the Senegalese goalkeeper in the delivery to Rüdiger and the white 9 took the opportunity to complete his hat-trickscore his 37th goal of the season and restore, if anything, Courtois’ tarnished honor.