Real Madrid: 5 players most responsible for first place status after 7 LaLiga matches

GK Thibaut Courtois

Thibaut Courtois has been the best goalkeeper in LaLiga over the past two seasons since recovering from a rough start to life at the Santiago Bernabeu. The Belgian superstar won the Zamora Trophy in 2019-2020 when Los Blancos won LaLiga, and yet he’s somehow reached new heights to start 2021-2022. It’s scary to think that Courtois is actually getting better for Real Madrid, because it was hard to see how he could improve after that magnificent second half of the 2019-2020 campaign.

But look at the statistics. Courtois has a save percentage above 85 in all competitions. No Madridista is going to forget his Man of the Match performance against Inter Milan. The scoreline says Real defeated Inter 1-0, but we all know this would have been a 4-1 loss without Courtois’ heroics in goals.

Even against Villarreal, Courtois made multiple parries to keep Real Madrid in the match, salvaging a 0-0 draw. Time after time, Courtois is a reliable pair of hands in front of goals, making reflex stops, stifling counters, and making saves that send the ball to safety. And his command of the back line has grown with each successive season.

Vinicius Junior and Karim Benzema have been vital to Real posting the league’s most effective attack, but without Courtois, none of that goal-scoring work would matter. Courtois has been responsible for just as many points in the league and Champions League tables as the forwards.