The good performance of Thibaut Courtois in the last League it was reflected in both Classics disputed, leaving his clean sheet in both games and becoming the first goalkeeper of the Real Madrid to achieve it in the same season in this 21st century (Victor Valdes He did it in 10/09 but with Barça). In addition, the Belgian goalkeeper adds 244 minutes, that is, four hours and four minutes, without fitting into the Classic, establishing the best mark also of a white goalkeeper, who was in possession of Iker Casillas.
The last Barça player who managed to beat his goal was the now Sevilla player Ivan Rakitic, on March 2, 2019 at the Santiago Bernabeu (matchday 26). The Croatian midfielder did it in the 26th minute of the first half with a goal that finally gave the Catalans victory (0-1).
One of the keys to good performance of the Real Madrid in the previous season in terms of his defense it was due to the great state of form of Courtois. The Belgian goalkeeper only conceded 20 goals in LaLiga 19/20, the best record for a goalkeeper for the Whites in a season in the 21st century with at least 20 appearances. In addition, he became the doorman with the best percentage of stops in competition, stopping 79.2% of his shots on goal conceded, according to OPTA data.
He Real Madrid has seen how at this start of the season has worsened your records, above all, with respect to the last part of the season, which was decisive for the achievement of the league title. In LaLiga 20/21, the Whites have already conceded three goals in five games, half the number in their 11 games after the break.
A large part of the success of Real Madrid in the past course he relied on his strength in defense. In addition to achieving their best mark in terms of goals conceded, the Whites equaled their best clean sheet record in the same LaLiga season. Up to 19 times the team left their goal unbeaten Zinedine Zidane in LaLiga 19/20, equaling the previous records of the 86/87 seasons – the famous playoff league with 44 games – and 87/88, both under the command of the Dutch coach Leo Beenhakker.
But not only in terms of goals conceded and clean sheets did the Real Madrid, but it was also one of the teams that conceded the fewest shots in the last league. The white team only received 337 shots in LaLiga 19/20, a record that only surpassed the Getafe (281), and of those that 114 went to goal, the same as the Atlético de Madrid.
Mendy, a talisman as a holder
Also stand out at the defensive level that with Ferland mendy, Real Madrid have not lost any of the 22 league games they have played with the French international in the starting line-up since last season, compared to the four defeats in the same stretch in the 17 games with Marcelo exiting start. In addition, the white team concedes almost twice as many goals on average (0.9 per game) with the Brazilian than with the French (0.5).