Real Madrid: Where would Los Blancos be without Thibaut Courtois?

Real Madrid won another game thanks to heroics from Thibaut Courtois, who has been the standout player of the first four games of the season.

Despite not playing their absolute best football to start their preseason-less 2020-2021 La Liga campaign, Real Madrid are undefeated. After drawing at the Anoeta Stadium against Real Sociedad, Los Merengues have defeated Real Betis, Real Valladolid, and Levante in three games in which they have been tested. They’ve also had to withstand injuries to key players like Toni Kroos and Dani Carvajal.

Throughout the first four games of the season, Belgian goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois has been the standout player for Los Blancos. He has made brilliant save after brilliant save, including an impossible stop from a deflection against Levante in which his body was going the other way yet he stuck his leg out to preserve the clean sheet.

Sergio Canales’ brilliant passing aside, Courtois has put together clean sheets in three of Real’s four matches thus far. And even against Los Verdiblancos at the Benito Villamarin, Courtois still played well and came up with big stops to keep Real Madrid in the game.

Courtois was already instrumental to Real’s success in 2019-2020. Without him and his return to form after October, Real Madrid wouldn’t have won the league. It’s that simple. He led the league in goals against per 90, save percentage, and clean sheet percentage with a clean sheet in more than half his games.

Real Madrid GK Thibaut Courtois is one of La Liga’s leaders again this season

This season, Courtois is already in the top five in save percentage, one of three goalkeepers with three clean sheets, and allowing just a half a goal per 90 minutes for Los Merengues. Basically, he hasn’t missed a beat.

Those statistics are impressive, but they don’t do justice to what we’ve seen on the pitch. Courtois has bailed out Real Madrid repeatedly through the first five Matchdays of La Liga, pulling out saves that few goalkeepers on this planet could. His reflexes and athleticism have stood out big-time for the club, and he has stood tall to the challenge of any counterattack.

Real Madrid can thank Courtois more than anyone else for being first place in La Liga heading into the international break with 10 points in just four games. Sevilla and Barcelona are in the mix with seven points from three, having drawn each other, but Los Blancos are on top, for now.

Without Thibaut Courtios, there’s no way they would be in this position after four matches. He’s been all-important to Real again in 2020-2021 thus far.