Thibaut Courtois has publicly criticized his Real Madrid teammates following their Champions League elimination, pointing out the absence of a key player they sorely missed.
Real Madrid crashed out of the competition after suffering a heavy 5-1 aggregate defeat to Arsenal. Already trailing by three goals from the first leg at the Emirates, Carlo Ancelotti’s men failed to mount a comeback, losing 2-1 at the Bernabeu.
Bukayo Saka opened the scoring to redeem his earlier penalty miss, with Vinicius Jr equalizing briefly before Gabriel Martinelli netted a late winner. Despite boasting stars like Kylian Mbappe and Jude Bellingham, Real lacked cutting edge, with Arsenal controlling the game.
Courtois, who did save Saka’s penalty, was critical of his side’s approach, especially their over-reliance on crosses. He pointed to the absence of Joselu, a player who was pivotal in last season’s Champions League run.
“We crossed a lot, but we didn’t have someone like Joselu,” Courtois said. “Maybe we should’ve tried different tactics. We have to be honest with ourselves and play more as a team.”
Despite the criticism, Courtois expressed full confidence in manager Carlo Ancelotti, stating, “We have zero doubt about him.”
He admitted Arsenal deserved their win over the two legs, but emphasized there’s still a lot to fight for this season, including La Liga, the Copa del Rey final, and the Club World Cup. Real currently trail Barcelona by four points with seven league games remaining.
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