In the Champions League group stage match held in the early hours of October 23, Beijing time, Real Madrid staged a remarkable comeback, turning a two-goal deficit into a 5-2 victory over Borussia Dortmund. After the match, Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois stated that the team cannot afford to play like this in the next game.
Courtois said, “The opponents posed a significant threat and managed to score. At halftime, we discussed what needed to be improved. In the second half, we responded positively, realizing that once we scored the first goal, we could win the game. We tightened our defense, implemented a man-marking strategy, and increased the intensity of the game—these changes were exactly what we needed.”
Regarding the team’s performance in the first half, Courtois was critical: “In the first half, we allowed the opponents too many easy passes in the penalty area. For example, with Brandt’s shot, although I made a good save, if the ball had gone into the corner, our score would have been 0-3. This won’t always work in our favor, so we must start from Saturday’s match and maintain the performance we showed in the second half today.”
Speaking about the team’s ability to come back even after conceding goals, Courtois said, “This is indeed a situation that can occur on the pitch… I wouldn’t call it fear from the opponents, but when you score your first goal, you can feel the atmosphere of the stadium change. After the score became 2-2, we needed to readjust our mindset; and after leading 3-2, things improved. Before that, they almost made it 2-3 again, which kept us on high alert.”
