Courtois proves why Real Madrid were right to replace Keylor Navas when they did
Thibaut Courtois was the man of the match in the Champions League final, making nine saves in total as Real Madrid claimed a clean sheet and a 1-0 victory over Liverpool. His incredible performance justified the Spanish club’s decision to sign the Belgian in 2018, at a time when Keylor Navas had just won three consecutive Champions League titles.
It wasn’t easy for Courtois when he arrived in the Spanish capital in the summer of 2018. He was a former Atletico Madrid player, cost €35m and was there to oust a club legend and fan favourite. The player has since referred to that time as “a tsunami” and his performances in 2018/19 weren’t great.
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But, Courtois has become arguably the best goalkeeper in the world over the past couple of years, basically since the return from the coronavirus pause. He was key as Real Madrid went on to secure that 2019/20 LaLiga Santander title, while he was also the main reason they even came close to challenging Atletico last year.
In 2021/22, Courtois has put in some of the best performances of his career. Even as Real Madrid coasted to another LaLiga Santander championship, Courtois made one ridiculous save in almost every game. Then, in the Champions League knockout rounds, he clicked into a divine state of form and finished the tournament with a total of 59 saves, the most since Opta started counting.
59 - #Courtois with 59 saves has now set the new record of saves made in a single #UCL campaign since 2003/04 (since Opta collected this data).
Also with 9 saves he set a new record in a #UCLfinal since 2003/04.
Wonderful.#LiverpoolVsRealMadrid— OptaPaolo 🏆 (@OptaPaolo) May 28, 2022
Comparing Courtois with Keylor Navas
This was Courtois’ first Champions League win, after he’d lost against Real Madrid in his only other appearance in the final, back in 2014 with Atletico. While he riled up some Atleti fans by saying in the pre-match that he felt he was “on the right side of history” this time, the Belgian was proven correct as he helped Real Madrid squeeze out this improbable victory over Liverpool.
So, Courtois now has one Champions League, which is still behind the three of Keylor Navas. But, the Costa Rican never came close to making 59 saves in any of his successful European runs. In the first of Navas’ triumphs, in the 2015/16 season, he made 26 total saves, fewer than half of what Courtois had to parry this year. It was then 33 saves in 2016/17 and 32 saves in 2017/18 for Navas, who made some especially vital interventions but who wasn’t called into action as much as the current Real Madrid number one.
Courtois, therefore, has fully justified Real Madrid’s decision to bring him in that summer when Keylor Navas was celebrating a third Champions League win in a row. He might just be the best goalkeeper in all of football right now.
