Beaten Belgian Courtois alludes to Real Madrid failure: ‘We miss Joselu’ | OneFootball

Thibaut Courtois believes that Real Madrid lack a real striker, after his side’s elimination against Arsenal in the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League (1-5 on aggregate).

“We give a lot of crosses, but this year we miss Joselu, a natural striker up front,” said Courtois as he addressed the Movistar camera. Joselu (35) was worth gold to Real in last season’s Champions League, scoring two late goals against Bayern Munich in the semi-final. Last summer, the striker left for Qatar’s Al-Gharafa for 1.5 million euros.

Courtois praised Arsenal, who looked comfortably dominant over two games. “Ultimately, they are a team that defends well, is well organised and presses well. It is difficult to find space against them. I don’t think Raya had to make a single great save. We lost to a superior Arsenal, and we have to accept that.”

Lucas Vázquez was less complimentary about the opponent’s performance. “Arsenal came to defend. They did practically nothing in the first half. It was a difficult game. We didn’t have as many chances as we would have liked. We didn’t lose face, but there were a lot of stoppages and the balance didn’t tip in our favour.”

GBeNeFN | Max Bradfield