Real Madrid goalkeeper, Thibaut Courtois, has said some of the club’s players were missing in the 4-0 thrashing they suffered at the hands of Barcelona at Sunday’s El-Classico.
Speaking after the game, Courtois blamed the players for ‘not fighting in the second half’ of the game at the Bernabeu.
Goals from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (2), Ronald Araujo and Ferran Torres gave the visitors the win in the absence of Kareem Benzema who is injured.
“Today we gave an unacceptable image to this club. There are players missing, but you didn’t notice that it was them that played Thursday (in Istanbul). They found a lot of space. We weren’t compact and weren’t able to keep the goals out. For the first goal, they anticipate better at the front post and we’re not switched on for the second either. After the break, we think we can come back, and after 10 seconds Ferran Torres is one on one with me,” Courtois told Movistar.
“We will have to talk about the tactics internally.
“They haven’t worked at the start of the game or the second half… we have to discuss it internally, not here.
“We played with a false nine in the Copa and hardly had any shots and it was the same here. We started OK, we had a chance with Fede Valverde which Marcter Stegen saved well, but from there we dropped off. We didn’t find the free man playing out and that makes it hard. Then in the second half, we cannot start like that. This badge demands that you fight and in the second half we did not. We could have lost even more,” he added.