Real Madrid: Can Thibaut Courtois have a repeat of his 2019-2020 season?

Can Thibaut Courtois have another sensational season at Real Madrid?

Fresh after winning the Golden Glove as the tournament’s best goalkeeper in the FIFA World Cup, Thibaut Courtois decided to move to Real Madrid in August 2018 for a reported €35 million.

In his first season, Courtois failed to make much impact in what turned out to be a terrible season for the Blancos and was attracted to intense criticism from the supporters.

He conceded 36 goals in 27 starts (1.33 goals per match) with only 8 clean sheets in the league which eventually turned to him being the topic of discussion in the media. Huge question marks hung over Courtois’ head at the start of the 2019/20 season especially considering he was brought to replace fan-favorite Keylor Navas. Constant criticism adding to his poor form just seemed to shrivel his confidence while donning the Real Madrid jersey.

But after overcoming a rather tricky start to life in Madrid, Thibaut Courtois has found his footing and has redeemed himself in the Spanish capital.

Thibaut Courtois redeemed himself at Real Madrid in 2019-2020

Courtois was crowned La Liga’s best goalkeeper for the 2019-20 season — winning the prestigious Zamora trophy. The Belgian keeper made a staggering 76 saves and was crucial behind the best defence in the league.

Thibaut Courtois conceded 20 goals in 34 matches with an average of 0.59 goals per game. This is the fewest in the Spanish division, ahead of Atletico Madrid’s Jan Oblak, Athletic Bilbao’s Unai Simon, and Barcelona’s Ter-Stegen.

Courtois also had the most clean sheets (18), the best clean-sheet percentage (52.9%), the best save percentage (0.79%), and conceded the least amount of goals per 90 minutes (0.59)  among all the goalkeepers in the Spanish top-flight in the 2019-20 season (source: Fbref.com)

Thibaut Courtois has been a hot topic of argument among the world’s best goalkeepers. After being dubbed in the media as a flop signing, Courtois has only gone on to redeem himself and win over the Bernabeu faithful. A beautiful redemption story indeed.

In the first league match at the start of the 2020/21 campaign, Real Madrid traveled to San Sebastian to see out a goalless draw against Real Sociedad. Even though Real Madrid controlled large parts of the game, the Belgian shot-stopper had a moment of brilliance that kept them in the game. While Real were comfortable in possession, Sociedad created a sudden turnover in midfield.

In a flash, Dani Carvajal was caught out of position and Aleksandar Isak was through on goal; one-versus-one against the goalkeeper. He seemed to shape himself to bury the ball in the bottom corner when Thibaut Courtois went running off the line and made himself big at the edge of the six-yard box.

The ball ricocheted off Courtois’ left boot and visibly bounced out of danger. Even though he faced only one shot on target, this save was crucial as it could’ve completely changed the fate of the tie. Again, Thibaut Courtois, as brilliant as ever.

Thibaut Courtois was brilliant for Real Madrid at Real Betis

Real Madrid traveled to Sevilla for the second game of the season against Real Betis in the Estadio Benito Villamarin. They came away with three points after winning 3-2 thanks to an 82nd minute Sergio Ramos penalty. Even though he conceded two goals, Thibaut Courtois had a huge influence on the game. He had two brilliant saves again which could’ve altered the course of the tie.

Betis created their first big chance of the night seven minutes into the game. Sanabria saw his goal bound header being tipped over the bar after a showcase of incredible reflexes from point blank range from the Real Madrid shotstopper.

In the 76th minute, William Carvalho had a shot that would’ve headed into the bottom corner if not for the heroics of Thibaut Courtois. The Belgian got a hand on the curling effort pawing it out of danger, making it go out for a corner kick. Madrid gave the midfield far too much space on the edge of the box and had their goalkeeper to thank on that occasion, again.

Without a doubt, Thibaut Courtois is stamping his name as Real Madrid’s number one and is paying back the faith Zidane had in him.

Real Madrid need Thibaut Courtois to shine in order to win the league again

Right now, the question looming large amongst the Real Madrid supporters is if Thibaut Courtois can have a repeat season.

Knowing Zidane and the attacking options at hand, the team will still be more defensively focused. Personally, for me, I think Thibaut Courtois will have another brilliant season. He has shown time and time again that he is a fantastic goalkeeper. The Belgian shotstopper will be crucial in Zidane’s plans again this campaign. Thibaut Courtois will have to be at his best once again if the team are to follow the same route, in their quest to win their 35th Spanish title.

Can Thibaut Courtois have a repeat season? Can Thibaut Courtois showcase the same prowess that captivated all of Spain last season? Can Courtois help Real Madrid win the 35th Spanish title?

A lot of questions regarding Real Madrid’s number one. But like always, only time will tell.