“We knew it’d be a difficult game against a side who hadn’t lost in seven”, said Courtois.
Vinicius Jr. came on as a substitute at the Bernabéu in the 73rd minute and was crucial in ensuring the win over Valladolid. The Brazilian ace, who brought about the first goal of the game, explained: “We needed this win. We’re going to keep going, picking up three points to get back to where we belong. It’s a very important victory on the way back, I came on hungry to clinch the three points”.
“When I picked up the ball, I was already of thinking about shooting after getting past the three defenders and just hit it hard. Now we’ve got to all stick together, play as a team to create more goal-scoring opportunities and get more points on the board to get back in the Champions League places”.
Courtois: “We’ve got players with real quality”
“We were going through a difficult spell, conceding a lot of goals and so it’s great to keep a clean sheet, we fought hard throughout and this is Real Madrid. We knew it’d be a tough clash, they hadn’t lost in 7 games, they defended well and counter-attacked with real quality. They created danger but we managed to keep a clean sheet and win the game”.
“We always have to keep the faith, we have players with real quality and we know we can give more. Today they got tired and we took advantage. When the team play high up the keeper needs to follow suit and that is what I tried to do. It is a role which you don’t see a lot of, but it is important none the less. Things like this put you in a good position to get the ball. It usually goes well, but it is crucial to keep a clean sheet and create those chances”.
