"The wall was well built, but..."
The British 'Daily Cannon' reported on the 9th (Korea Standard Time) that "Thibaut Courtois (33, Real Madrid) spoke about Declan Rice's two free kicks," sharing an interview with Real Madrid's goalkeeper Courtois.
Real Madrid lost 0-3 to Arsenal in the first leg of the quarterfinals of the 2024-2025 season UEFA Champions League held at the Arsenal Stadium in London, England, on the 9th.
Real Madrid was expected to win, but they conceded two goals from free kicks taken by Arsenal midfielder Rice and ultimately fell 0-3.
Real Madrid fielded a 4-4-2 formation, with Vinicius and Kylian Mbappe leading the attack and Jude Bellingham, Eduardo Camavinga, Luka Modric, and Rodrygo in midfield. The back four consisted of David Alaba, Antonio Rudiger, Raul Asensio, and Federico Valverde, with Thibaut Courtois guarding the goal.
Arsenal countered with a 4-3-3 formation. At the front, Gabriel Martinelli, Mikel Merino, and Bukayo Saka were positioned, while Declan Rice, Thomas Partey, and Martin Ødegaard formed the midfield. The back four was manned by Myles Lewis-Skelly, Jakub Kiwior, William Saliba, and Jurrien Timber, with David Raya in goal.
The first half concluded without either team scoring, maintaining a tense flow, but in the second half, Real Madrid quickly fell apart. In the 14th minute of the second half, they conceded the opening goal to Rice from a free kick, and in the 26th minute, they conceded another goal from another free kick.
Real Madrid showed cracks in defense, allowing a third goal to Merino in the 30th minute of the second half, tipping the scales against them. They failed to intercept Lewis-Skelly's pass and could not control Merino's shot.
Failing to rebound on both offense and defense, Real Madrid encountered further setbacks as Camavinga received a second yellow card and was sent off in stoppage time. After having already received a yellow card, he was booked again for unnecessary delay actions, making him ineligible for the next match.
Real Madrid suffered a complete defeat, losing 0-3, placing them in a position where they must secure a significant reversal in the second leg to advance to the semifinals.
According to Daily Cannon, in a post-match interview, Courtois said, "I don't think I could have kicked the second free kick any better," and pointed out, "There were unnecessary fouls in situations that weren't even dangerous, and you cannot make those mistakes against a team with a good free kick taker."
Regarding the first goal conceded, Courtois acknowledged, "I thought the wall was set up properly, and even adding one more person to block the curve was futile. I knew Rice took free kicks well, but I didn't expect him to curve it that much."
Besides Rice, Mikel Merino added a third goal, and Real Madrid fell completely apart in the second half. Courtois noted, "We forgot our football in the second half. We gave up too much space and were not calm in handling the ball. When we conceded the third goal after two great free kicks, we did not react properly."
Nevertheless, Courtois dreams of a reversal at the Bernabeu. He emphasized, "0-3 is definitely not an easy scoreline. But we are a strong team at home. We must believe in this team. We will fight with everything we have to turn this result around."
He recalled his past experiences of turning around such situations, saying, "It may feel like everything is over today, but in football, situations can change at any time."
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