"They really pressed us high from the start..": Real Madrid goalkeeper Courtois after loss to Manchester City
May 18, 2023
Manchester [UK], May 18 : Manchester City triumphed over Real Madrid with a 4-0 win in the 2nd Leg of the UEFA Champions League held at the Etihad Stadium. The final aggerate score was 5-1. Following the loss, Real Madrid's goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois said City pressed high from the start of the match not allowing them to create any chances.
Bernardo Silva opened the scoring in the 23rd minute with a left-footed strike to take the ball past Real Madrid's goalkeeper. Later in the 37th minute, Silva got his second goal as he guided the ball with his head in the right corner of the net. In the 76th minute, Manuel Akanji took the score to 3-0, as a huge deflection from Eder Militao helped the ball go in for the third time in Real Madrid's net. Julian Alvarez was subbed on in the 89th minute of the match and in the additional time he scored a goal with his first touch of the match taking the score to 4-0.
When asked about where did Real Madrid lack in the game, their goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois said as quoted by the club's official website, "They really pressed us high from the start, not letting us play the ball out and they pressured with a lot of players so we were penned back in our area."
He added on by saying, "We dealt with it pretty well early on but we didn't manage to impose ourselves, create chances or cause them any problems. They were very comfortable and they got the goal. We struggled to get into the game."
Courtois further complimented his teammate Toni Kroos by stating, "If Kroos' shot had gone in, perhaps it would have altered the course of the game"
After half-time, Real Madrid made a few attempts to make a comeback but it all went in vain as City's defenders Ruben Dias and John Stones did not let any of their attacks prevail.
Thibaut Courtois said after the match, "We started pretty well after half-time but we struggled to create chances today and we did not pass the ball cleanly."
Manchester City will be looking forward to winning the treble this season as they have strong hopes of winning the Premier League, FA Cup and UEFA Champions League.
Therefore, if they achieve this milestone they will be the second team in histroy to have won all three titles in a single season. The first was done by Manchester United in 1999 under Sir Alex Ferguson.
Manchester City's remaining Premier League Fixture are against, Chelsea on May 21, Brighton on May 25 and Brentford on May 28.
The FA Cup Final is scheduled on June 3 against Manchester United.
Manchester City will be facing Inter Milan in the Champions League Final on June 11 in Istanbul.
