Courtois reveals Rashford and Yamal lessons behind stunning Calhanoglu save

Thibaut Courtois says he drew on previous experiences against Marcus Rashford and Lamine Yamal to make his remarkable save from Hakan Calhanoglu’s free-kick as Real Madrid beat Inter Milan 2-1 in their Champions League opener at Santiago Bernabeu on Tuesday.

The Belgium goalkeeper praised Inter’s quality after a dramatic contest but admitted Real Madrid made mistakes and allowed the visitors opportunities to get back into the match.

“In the end, we played against a strong opponent. Inter Milan are one of the best teams in Europe, and the match could have finished 4-4,” Courtois told Movistar.

“We took advantage of their mistakes and they were only able to score very late. We could have settled the match earlier.”

Real Madrid began their Champions League campaign with victory in front of their home supporters, although Courtois said the performance was not as controlled as it should have been. He felt the midfield suffered most when the team failed to create clear openings and suggested that managing the tempo more effectively would have reduced the chaos of the match.

“I think the midfielders struggled more. We lacked control when we did not have a clear chance,” he said.

“Perhaps it would have been better to drop back and control the game. The match was extremely chaotic, and that is something we need to improve.”

Courtois also reflected on Real Madrid’s previous La Liga defeat by Real Betis. He said his side should have won that match but were let down by their finishing, a problem he believed remained evident against Inter.

“We should have won, but we lacked the finishing touch, and today we lacked it as well,” Courtois said.

“We took advantage of their mistakes, but we lacked the finishing touch from free-kicks. It was the same against Real Betis.”

The goalkeeper reserved particular attention for his save from Calhanoglu’s free-kick, describing the decision-making behind it by referring to two earlier moments involving Rashford and Yamal.

“Unfortunately, Rashford scored against me in El Clasico by finding my corner. He struck it perfectly, but I moved slightly,” Courtois explained.

“With Lamine in the World Cup, there was a free-kick, so I stayed in my corner, and today I did the same thing again.”

Courtois added: “If he puts it over the wall, you have to applaud him, but I will not move away from my corner again.”

The result gave Real Madrid a winning start to their Champions League campaign, while Inter Milan were left to regret the errors Courtois said the Spanish side had exploited. The Belgium international’s comments also underlined the contrast between Real Madrid’s attacking reward and the defensive uncertainty that made the game so open.

Readers can discuss the subject and the latest football news in greater depth on the Kooora forums.