Real Madrid: Ranking the top five players of April 2021
1. GK Thibaut Courtois
Like Casemiro, Thibaut Courtois is another player who can get underrated by fans at large, but the Real Madrid faithful know better than to overlook the big Belgian. Ever since October of 2019, Courtois has been a heroic figure for Real, keeping the team in matches with stunning saves, including dangerous counterattacks when the defense is nowhere to be found.
Without Courtois, Los Blancos most likely would have lost El Clasico and the first leg of the semifinals vs. Chelsea. He deserves massive credit for keeping clean sheets against Real Betis, Getafe, and Liverpool, because his goal was exposed too many times in those matches.
Courtois had a streak of four clean sheets and never allowed more than one goal in April despite the fact that Real Madrid played a whopping eight games and had injuries in defense. The experienced shot-stopper made at least three saves in seven of his eight appearances, including a staggering six against Getafe. In fact, according to post-shot expected goals, he saved Real from a 2-0 loss to Getafe with his saves alone!
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He was even better against his former employers, saving 2.1 goals against Chelsea! As a whole, Courtois saved 7.8 goals in his appearances in April, essentially saving one goal per game for his team. Ridiculous!