Off the back of their strong team performance against Sevilla at the weekend, Real Madrid followed it up with another strong effort all-around with a convincing 4-1 win over RB Leipzig. It was an all-around strong performance from the whole team, but a number of individuals stood out on their own, none more than Thibaut Courtois. The Belgian put on another one of his world-class performances with five saves and easily could have been in the conversation for man of the match.
The Belgian unfortunately didn't get another cleansheet to his name, conceding a goal in the 85th minute, a goal that wasn't his fault, and manager Jose Mourinho didn't hold back after the match, putting the blame on the defenders in front of him.
While speaking to the media following Real Madrid's Champions League win over RB Leipzig, despite putting in a strong performance, Jose Mourinho rightfully voiced his frustrations with his defense for not being able to keep a cleansheet, saying the defense ruined the game for Thibaut Courtois. Mourinho went on to say: "Thibaut Courtois did not deserve to concede that goal. His teammates ruined the night for him. I didn't like it. He saved us many times tonight, and in the end they ruin the cleansheet for him."
Real Madrid still can't keep a cleansheet and Mourinho is right to be mad
While it may sound a bit harsh to say Courtois teammates ruined the game for him, Jose is 100% spot on. Courtois put in an incredible performance against Leipzig, with a number of top-class saves, and if it wasn't for him, the game easily could have ended 4-4, and his out-of-this-world saves were deserving of a cleansheet. But, like we have seen on a number of other occasions this season, a lapse in concentration from the defense led to a silly goal that should never have been conceded, ruining Courtois performance, and Mourinho is fully within his rights to be upset.
This isn't the first time this season Real Madrid have conceded silly goals that were easily preventable after a brilliant Courtois performance. They did it against Inter Milan, Rayo Vallecano, and just this past weekend against Sevilla. All games where Courtois came to Real Madrid's rescue, but in the last few minutes the defense leaves him hanging to concede a goal that should never be conceded.
Thankfully, for Real Madrid, all those games mentioned where they conceded a late silly goal they went on to win, but what if it keeps happening and it ends up costing the team crucial points? That situation is bound to happen at some point, so Mourinho is right to be mad at his defense for their lapses in concentration.
Part of the reason Jose Mourinho was brought in was to help reshape and secure the backline after years of struggling with conceding goals, but the problems are still there, and it's looking like it could be a huge Achilles' heel for Real Madrid this season. Thibaut Courtois can only do so much, and he comes to the rescue almost every game, and he needs his defenders in front of him to start stepping up and doing their jobs, or more frustration is going to come from Mourinho, and rightfully so.
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