Real Madrid is headed to America! The Spanish club is on a pre-season tour in the United States of America, where they will face three teams in stadiums around the country, the first of which will be FC Barcelona in Las Vegas.
The last encounter between the two heavyweights ended in a 4-0 setback for Real Madrid, who then went on to win everything. This game, again, I’m not sure how much of a friendly it is going to be; after all, it is El Clasico, one of the most prominent football games on the planet, and every match is a question of honour and prestige.
Both clubs will be in Las Vegas with their finest squads, and which team will triumph will be determined at the conclusion of 90 minutes. What we can do now is construct the best and strongest combined XI of Real Madrid and FC Barcelona, with the top players from each side on each position on the sheet. Let’s dive right in and start with the goalkeeper without further ado.
Goalkeeper – Thibaut Courtois
With all due respect to Ter Stegen, choosing Courtois just made more sense, and you would agree even if you were a Barcelona supporter. There is little to no debate as to why you would favour the German Barcelona keeper over the Belgian, given the two contenders’ seasons over the last several years have been entirely opposites, as everyone is aware.
Thibaut Courtois was easily the finest goalkeeper in the world last season, winning several matches for Real Madrid and capturing the Champions League final on his own. Again, Ter Stegen is an excellent goalkeeper, but he is simply not on pace with Courtois at the moment.
The Belgian goalkeeper enjoyed a world-class season, and he is likely to finish near the top of the Ballon d’Or rankings and win the Yashin trophy by a wide majority. In terms of stats, Courtois continues to outperform Ter Stegen, with considerably superior PSxG-GA data.