Real Madrid: 5 key players to watch against Eibar

GK Thibaut Courtois

Don’t look now, but Thibaut Courtois may be reclaiming the world-class title for himself. It has been a tumultuous start to his Real Madrid career, but Courtois, who was at risk of being benched for Alphonse Areola at one point this season, is now flying high with a streak of four straight clean sheets.

Even last week when he didn’t face much of a threat from Ryan Babel and Galatasaray’s lifeless, hobbled attack, Courtois still kept his focus and made one impressive point-blank save to preserve the clean sheet. In Real’s first group stage game against Galatasaray in front of the notoriously fired-up Istanbul crowd, Courtois made several big saves to ensure Los Blancos would walk away from the trip with all three points.

Courtois’ quality has never really been in doubt, but fans were worried that the Belgian goalkeeper either wasn’t a stylistic fit for the team in goal or simply could not handle the pressure of wearing a Real Madrid kit.

Based on his play over the past few weeks, Courtois has more than answered the critics and finally looks to be at his best. If Courtois can record another clean sheet, he’ll head into the November international break with five straight shutouts to his name after once going more than five months without a single clean sheet.