Thibaut Courtois believes Real Madrid risk paid off against Barcelona

Thibaut Courtois believes Real Madrid’s decision to press Barcelona as they played out from the back paid off in El Clasico.

In his 50th LaLiga game as a Madrid player, goalkeeper Courtois made key first-half saves from Arthur and Lionel Messi.

That set the platform for second-half goals from Vinicius Junior and Mariano Diaz as Zinedine Zidane’s men claimed a 2-0 home win on Sunday that put them top of LaLiga.

Courtois felt Madrid’s tactics made the difference and was glad to have stepped up when it mattered with important stops before the break.

“Against Barcelona you can play in two ways: get into the area and defend or press and risk as they play out,” he said to the club’s official website.

“We did the latter very well and winning a Clasico is always good. 

“At 0-0 in the first half it was important not to concede any goals. When it was my turn I made good saves, like against Arthur and Messi. 

“Then in the second half we were better and made the difference.”

@viniciusjr: “It’s been my best night as a madridista.”#ElClásico | #HalaMadrid pic.twitter.com/sEob6SKNmZ

— Real Madrid C.F.