Real Madrid: 5 burning questions after the 1-0 win over Real Valladolid

Will Thibaut Courtois surpass Jan Oblak again?

Last season, Thibaut Courtois led all goalkeepers in La Liga with 18 clean sheets, according to FBRef.com. He beat out Jan Oblak by one, firmly establishing himself as the league’s most dominant keeper. Courtois also led the league with a 78.9 save percentage and 0.59 goals per 90 minutes allowed.

In 2020-2021, Oblak has been the top goalkeeper to this point, but Courtois, with additional competition from Sevilla’s rising star Yassine Bonou, is closing the gap.

After his latest clean sheet against Real Valladolid and Oblak’s loss to Jose Luis Morales and Levante, Courtois has tied Oblak with 11 clean sheets. And this despite losing Sergio Ramos and Dani Carvajal for significant chunks of time!

Courtois is just one percentage point behind Oblak in save percentage. The Atleti man has a mere 0.19 goals per 90 allowed on Courtois, and I have a feeling that statistic would start to swing in the Belgian standout’s direction if Ramos and Carvajal were not injured for so many matches.

The 28-year-old shot-stopper has come up big so often in the 2020-2021 season for Real Madrid, and he is going to be vital down the stretch of the campaign in this title race. Courtois has shown that he can thrive under pressure, and he has not lost any bit of focus.