Guardiola, Pep Manchester City defeated Real Madrid 4-0 to get to the Champions League final. The Citizens’ accomplishment is very impressive, especially considering that they did it in the competition’s semifinal round against the 14-time European champions. Of course, Carlo Ancelotti’s team suffered a great deal of disappointment.
Not only were they eliminated, but Ancelotti’s future may also be called into question given the way they left. In fact, if it weren’t for Thibaut Courtois’ genius, the final score may have been even worse.
Real Madrid’s Courtois was unquestionably the finest player on the field. He did a fantastic job stopping several shots from Manchester City, but finally, the ball found the back of his net four times.
Guardiola had all praise for Courtois following the game, despite handing the opponents a 4-0 defeat. He even thinks that the Belgian goalkeeper should have won the Ballon d’Or last year. According to Tribuna, the manager of Manchester City said to Movistar:
The Ballon d’Or was awarded to Benzema last year, but Courtois would have also been deserving had he won.
Goalkeepers have historically had a very difficult time winning the Ballon d’Or. It was therefore not shocking that Courtois did not triumph or place better in the award standings.
He was unquestionably one of the best players in the world last season, saving his best performance for Real Madrid’s 1-0 victory against Liverpool in the Champions League final to win the title a record 14 times. It’s wonderful to see that Courtois’ performance level has been quite high throughout this season as well.
Let’s see what Real Madrid’s future holds. The team needs reinforcements all across the field, but Courtois is their starting goalie, so that position is fully protected.
