Not Ronaldo Or Benzema! Thibaut Courtois Names Champions League Hero Real Madrid Missed in Woeful Loss to Arsenal at Bernabeu

Real Madrid failed to overturn the odds, which were heavily stacked against them in the second leg of the Champions League quarterfinal draw against Arsenal at the Santiago Bernabeu. Chasing a 3-0 trail, Real Madrid looked completely out of sorts in the entirety of the duration, losing the fixture 2-1, and going down 5-1 on aggregate. With the loss, they have been knocked out of the competition. Arsenal on the other hand have moved to the last four and will square off against Paris Saint-Germain in the semi-final.

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Arsenal Hit Knockout Blow to Real Madrid

Holders Real Madrid entered Santiago Bernabeu with a 1% chance and 99% faith. They have been successful in the past in such situations, but this time they could not rattle their opposition, who were far superior throughout both legs. Ahead of the kickoff, assertions were made that Madrid would look to feed on moments of individual brilliance, and one such moment came in the initial phase of the first half when Thibaut Courtois denied Bukayo Saka from the spot.  With the Bernabeu crowd getting behind their players the stage was set for an epic remontada, but Arsenal kept their calm with a resolute defense. They tamed the Madrid attack and hence no threat emanated.

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Joselu the Missing Piece

Following the culmination of the game, Courtois was asked to address his thoughts on the game, and he did not mince words in pointing out what the Merengues missed on the day.

"They defended well, they pressed high, it was very difficult to find gaps," Courtois told Movistar.
"We put in a lot of crosses, but we don't have a Joselu to win those aerial duels."

Madrid put 43 crosses into the penalty area compared to Arsenal's nine but managed just three shots on target.

Joselu, who was the lone striker in the Real Madrid squad last season, came quite handy for Madrid on a number of occasions. His poaching ability and the alertness to be at the right place at the right time, reaped Madrid several favourable results, with most notable being the brace he scored against Bayern Munich in the second leg of the UCL semi-final to script a successful comeback.