Thibaut Courtois
Belgium send defending champion Portugal out of Euro 2020
Belgium have sent out defending champions, Portugal out of Euro 2020, with a lone goal victory on Sunday. Portugal dominated the game with 24 goal attempts and five shots on goal, while Belgium scored with its only shot on goal and six goal attempts. Thorgan Hazard got the only goal of the match for Belgium on 42 minutes. He latched on to a superb pass and breaks through the defence before firing a shot from mid-range that goes past the goalkeeper inside the right post. On 58 minutes, Diogo Jota had a chance to draw Portugal level. He picked up an inch-perfect pass inside the box and fired the ball just over the crossbar. On 83 minutes, Raphael Guerreiro fired a brilliant shot from the edge of the box, but the effort rattled the right post It could have been a superb goal for Portugal if i...
Real Madrid suffer title race blow with 0-0 Getafe draw
Real Madrid‘s chances of defending their La Liga title this season have been dealt a real blow as they slipped to a 0-0 draw at Getafe. Zinedine Zidane‘s injury hit side were unable to break down their determined hosts in the south of Madrid as the gap between themselves and leaders Atletico Madrid remains at three points. Jose Bordalas’ side carved out the better early chances at the Estadio Coliseum Alfonso Perez with Thibaut Courtois called into action to deny Mathias Olivera before Jaime Mata struck a post. Zidane’s visitors did improve either side of the break with Vinicius Junior and Mariano Diaz testing David Soria. However, Getafe dominated the closing stages with Courtois again coming to Real Madrid’s rescue with key stops from Nemanja Maksimovic and Angel Rodriguez. Up next for R...
Zinedine Zidane includes Eden Hazard in Real Madrid trip to Germany
Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane has included Eden Hazard in the squad that will take on Borussia Monchengladbach. Hazard suffered a series of injuries in his campaign to life at Real Madrid, with ankle injuries hampering his performances. The Belgian attacker trained with the rest of the group on Sunday, as Real Madrid got back to work following El Clasico, and is now one of the 21 players in the midweek squad. The likes of Dani Carvajal and Alvaro Odriozola, as well as Nacho will miss out in the clash against Borussia Monchengladbach. Zidane will not count on Martin Odegaard and Mariano due to injury. The complete squad for the Borussia Monchengladbach trip is as follows: Thibaut Courtois, Andry Lunin, Diego Altube, Eder Militao, Sergio Ramos, Raphael Varane, Marcelo, Ferland Mendy, S...
Thibaut Courtois: Real Madrid are always favourites for the Champions League
Thibaut Courtois has insisted Real Madrid are “always the favourites” for the Champions League while expressing his confidence that the Blancos can conquer Europe again in 2020-21. Madrid have won the competition a record 13 times, six more than any other club, but an underwhelming start to the La Liga season has hardly served to inspire confidence they can claim a 14th title come May. Madrid are third in the early La Liga standings, one point behind early leaders Real Sociedad having slumped to a 1-0 home loss to newly-promoted Cadiz last time out. Zinedine Zidane’s side failed to reach the quarter-finals last season, losing in a two-legged last-16 tie to Manchester City with a five-month interval between the games due to the suspension of football amid the Covid-19 crisis. Drawn in Group...
Gareth Bale: Real Madrid blocked my return to Premier League
Gareth Bale has accused Real Madrid of making it “very difficult” to leave the Spanish club as the Wales forward looks to end his Bernabeu exile. Bale is out of favour with Real manager Zinedine Zidane and played just 48 minutes of Madrid’s 12 games when the Spanish season resumed after the coronavirus lockdown. Zidane, who has feuded with Bale throughout his two spells in charge, said the winger did not want to play in last season’s Champions League last-16 second-leg tie at Manchester City. Bale has two years left on his Real contract, but there appears little chance he will force his way into the manager’s plans. The 31-year-old almost joined Chinese Super League club Jiangsu Suning in 2019 before Real pulled the plug on the deal, a decision that still irks Bale. “I think the club needs...
Real Madrid win 34th Spanish LaLiga title
Real Madrid wrapped up the title in LaLiga with a game to spare thanks to a classy victory over Villarreal. Karim Benzema scored a goal in each half as Real Madrid clinched a 34th LaLiga title with a 2-1 victory over Villarreal. The Frenchman’s 20th and 21st league goals – the second of which came from a contentious penalty – of the season ultimately earned a win at Estadio Alfredo Di Stefano that meant Barcelona’s result against Osasuna was rendered immaterial. Zinedine Zidane’s men were in control against game opponents until Vicente Iborra’s late header made for a nervy finish, but a 10th straight win since LaLiga’s resumption means Madrid are champions with a game to spare. Benzema has scored seven times in that run and it was fitting his contribution should round out their title succe...
