Thibaut Courtois has criticised Real Madrid’s tactics following their Champions League defeat to Arsenal and claims the team missed the presence of Joselu in attack.
Carlo Ancelotti’s side are now out of the Champions League after Arsenal sealed a 2-1 victory at the Santiago Bernabeu on Wednesday night.
Arsenal held a 3-0 advantage from the first leg of their quarter-final tie last week, however, Madrid’s players appeared confident of mounting a comeback in front of their own supporters.
But the Champions League holders struggled to trouble Mikel Arteta’s side and fell behind in the second half through Bukayo Saka’s neat finish.
Vinicius Junior pounced on a mistake from William Saliba to equalise but Madrid were unable to cause Arsenal further problems and the Gunners, who will now play Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League semi-final, sealed the win in injury time through Gabriel Martinelli.
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Speaking after Madrid’s Champions League exit, Courtois claimed his team are too reliant on ‘individual’ moments in attack and said Joselu, who scored 18 goals for Madrid last season before his €17 million (£14.4m) move to Qatari side Al-Gharafa last summer, would have offered a stronger presence in attack against Arsenal.
‘We can’t always expect the four up front to dribble past three players and score a great goal. As a team, we have to attack and defend better,’ Courtois said.
‘In the end, they’re a team that defends well, is well-organised, presses well, and it’s difficult to find space. We put in a lot of crosses, but this year we don’t have Joselu, a natural striker up front.
‘We have to analyse carefully what we can do better. We have a lot of season ahead of us, we have the League on the line, the Cup in ten days, and then the Club World Cup. We thank the fans. Thinking about a comeback was great, and I hope we can bring them some joy this season.
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‘Sometimes you have to be self-critical and look at everything carefully. Everyone has to do this. I feel like we’re a team, but we have to make more team plays and not just individual ones.
‘If they double-mark Vini or Kylian, a two-on-one can work once, but not five times.
‘We still have a good final against Barca, La Liga, and the Club World Cup.’
Meanwhile, Real Madrid’s captain, Lucas Vazquez, accused Arsenal of ‘coming to defend’ at the Bernabeu.
‘It’s a difficult moment. We tried, but it was a tough game. We didn’t have all the chances we would have liked,’ Vazquez told Movistar.
‘We didn’t lose face in the game, but there were a lot of interruptions. Those moments when the balance sometimes falls in our favour didn’t happen, and in the end, we weren’t able to do what we wanted
‘Perhaps yes, we lacked clarity with the ball, patience at certain moments, and the ability to move the ball from side to side to penetrate a well-organised defence.
‘They came to defend, to play their part. They did practically nothing in the first half, and in the second, with the team completely focused, they found victory. We tried
‘There’s still a lot of season left to play. The team is united, it’s doing well, and it’s eager to achieve what’s left, and we’re going to work hard to achieve everything.’
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