Real Madrid: Ranking the top 5 players of 2020-21 after 30 matches

Real Madrid have a realistic chance of winning the two biggest competitions they compete in. They are currently second in La Liga, just one point behind Atletico Madrid, after winning El Clasico. And heading into Wednesday night’s second leg, Los Blancos are currently up 3-1 on Liverpool in the Champions League quarterfinals.

So many players have stepped up for the team this season, because it’s been a tough campaign. There have been injuries, contract negotiations, loans out, and speculation about Zinedine Zidane’s future. Yet Real will still be fighting for major trophies until the end.

Since they’ve played exactly 30 matches in La Liga following El Clasico, let’s rank Real’s top five players of the season thus far.

5. GK Thibaut Courtois

We begin with the man between the posts, Thibaut Courtois. As we saw in El Clasico, the Belgian comes up big for Real Madrid so often. He is a wall in goal and one of the most reliable goalkeepers you could ever ask for. Many fans say that they have not felt this secure since Iker Casillas played, and Casillas is both one of the greatest goalkeepers and Madridistas in history.

Per FBRef.com, Courtois is fourth in the league in goals allowed per 90 minutes and fourth in clean sheet percentage. Good but not the best. However, that’s misleading, since Courtois has been playing behind a defense without Dani Carvajal for much of the season and without Sergio Ramos for much of 2021. He does not have the same support as Sevilla and Atletico Madrid’s goalkeepers, who lead the league in these statistics.

So it is telling, then, that Courtois is first in save percentage with 80.5 percent of his shots faced stopped. He is amazing.