Barça left the League in sight for sentencing with an agonizing victory against Real Madrid thanks to a goal from Kessié in injury time. With 12 games to go to go, with 36 points at stake, the Barça alirón seems like a matter of time and that is the way the white goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois feels, who practically threw in the towel after the final whistle at the Camp Nou.
“Nothing is impossible, but it is very difficult. We will come here to win the Cup match,” the Belgian goalkeeper explained to Movistar about Madrid’s few options in the regularity tournament and the hopes placed in the second leg of the semifinals of the Cup next April 5. Ancelotti’s men will have to come back from 0-1 in the first leg to advance to the final.
Courtois regretted that Madrid’s “good game” was not reflected on the scoreboard and had an impact on the moral blow caused by Barça’s goals, both in the last minutes of each half. “We had it under control and they scored a goal for us in the last minute of the first half. In the second we played well, with many arrivals. We didn’t take advantage of them. In the end we left spaces and they scored against us,” he explained.
The goalkeeper had a bittersweet feeling at the end of the match, “happy” for the numerous saves that prevented a major defeat, especially in the first half, but angry at leaving the Camp Nou empty-handed. “Only victory counted”, a Courtois resigned who could not do anything in the goals of Sergi Roberto and Kessié.
“We have a team and football and there are two very nice months left. In the Cup we can win here, and we can win the Champions League too. We’ll go for everything,” concluded the goalkeeper, who was pessimistic about the options in the League but optimistic about facing the two tournaments where Madrid keeps its options intact.
“I’m sad, we needed to win,” said Fede Valverde, who acknowledged the rival’s merits and regretted that Madrid did not know how to “finish the game” in the second half: “The first half was theirs and then they got tired, they put a lot of pressure on. With an advantage we got behind and they grew, they played well. We left a lot of space behind and they took advantage of it.”
The Uruguayan did not want to hide behind the adjusted offside that the VAR pointed out in the disallowed goal against Marco Asensio that could have meant the white victory: “I celebrated the goal. I don’t like to talk about these things. I have not seen the play. I always want to highlight team pride and not wait for a referee’s decision.”
Finally, the midfielder did not want to give up the league title for Barça: “Not at all, whenever there are options you have to fight. The season serves to be mentally well and then fight for the Champions League.”
Consult all the results of the Santander League.
