Courtois bemoans missed chances after Real Madrid draw

Thibaut Courtois said Real Madrid had “chances to kill off the game” as the star goalkeeper lamented his side’s 2-2 draw away to Villarreal in LaLiga.

Madrid – fourth in the league – were forced to share the points on Thursday after conceding an 82nd-minute equaliser to Villarreal’s Santi Cazorla.

Karim Benzema and Raphael Varane had cancelled out Cazorla’s fourth-minute opener in the first half before the former Arsenal playmaker headed past Courtois with eight minutes remaining.

The result ended Madrid’s three-game winning streak as they slipped seven points adrift of bitter rivals and leaders Barcelona.

 Check out the match report and photo gallery as we kicked-off 2019 with a share of the spoils at Villarreal.  #RMLiga

— Real Madrid C.F. (@realmadriden) January 3, 2019

“We had some chances to kill off the game,” Courtois said. “We had issues at the back and that cost us a goal.

“We had the lion’s share of possession, we controlled the game in many moments and we into Villarreal’s box more than they did ours.

“Now we have to think about Sunday and really try to win it. We have trained well over the last few days and we were ready for the match.

“We started off badly with an error and a goal, but then we got back into it. We missed great chances in the one-on-one and that was the game finished.”

Madrid full-back Dani Carvajal added: “We had some real chances to finish the game and make it 3-1, but in the end, we drew and dropped two points.

“We needed those three points to close the gaps on the leader. Now we need to keep working hard and rack up some points. This is not an easy place to come play. We’re disappointed because we were ahead for practically the whole match and not winning really stings.”
 
“We knew that they would have to push forward and leave the defence open. Before finishing with a draw, we had two massive chances to kill it off, we did not finish and they nicked a goal at the end.”