Kylian Mbappé and Thibaut Courtois’ comments after Real Madrid’s victory at Villarreal.
A brace for Kylian Mbappé and multiple saves for Thibaut Courtois: that’s the recipe for Real Madrid’s victory over Villarreal this Saturday. A crucial victory on a pitch where their last victory dates back to 2017, and in the context of Atletico Madrid and FC Barcelona facing off this Sunday in La Liga.
“It was an important and difficult match because Villarreal are at the top of the La Liga table. After the match against Atletico, with extra time, it was difficult, but we had to win today. We showed character, the desire to play and win. We fought hard and we came away with the three points,” analyzed Mbappé.
“Everyone saw the match against Atletico. We played 120 minutes with a lot of intensity and emotion. We know why we’re here, we have to respect the badge and keep fighting until the end. We had to give everything we had, and we did,” he continued.
And on his personal fitness: “I feel very good with the team and on a personal level too. I want to help the team win and I hope to be able to do much more after the break,” said the Frenchman, who is closing in on Cristiano Ronaldo’s tally (33 goals) and has already surpassed Ronaldo Nazario (30 goals) in his first year at Real Madrid.
The Frenchman has 31 goals with many games still to play. “They are legends who have left their mark on an era. It’s important, but these are just numbers. If I score more goals than Cristiano, it doesn’t mean I’m greater, it just means I’m doing better in my first season. Scoring is important to me, but if there are no titles at the end of it, it’s not worth it,” he concluded.
For his part, Thibaut Courtois didn’t mince his words as usual and complained about the treatment he received from La Liga. “It’s not normal to play today at 6:30 p.m. after playing 120 minutes on Wednesday with a penalty shootout, an incredible expenditure of energy. I understand that La Liga doesn’t like to play the three biggest teams in the league on the same day, but sometimes that’s how it is,” he said.
“I think it’s a lack of respect for our team and the players because we could have suffered injuries. We could have played Atletico-Barça on Sunday, I don’t see the problem, and we would have been talking about a great Sunday of football like they do in Belgium or England,” he continued.
He concluded with a few words for his teammate Mbappé. “He’s a great player, incredible. He responds when you need him. Against Atletico, it was one of the most complicated matches because they defend a lot and don’t leave much space. He was there today to score both goals.”
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