Real Madrid boss Xabi Alonso praised Thibaut Courtois after the Belgian produced an excellent performance in the goal against Liverpool.
Los Blancos went down 1-0 at Anfield in the Champions League, although the scoreline could have been much worse for Madrid had it not been for Courtois’ heroics, with Alexis Mac Allister’s header in the 61st minute proving the difference.
The Madrid goalkeeper made an impressive eight saves, including denying a series of brilliant attempts from Dominik Szoboszlai. This was the first time he had made at least five stops in a European match since playing against Arsenal in April.
Courtois, who famously frustrated Liverpool in the 2021/22 Champions League final in Paris, conceded with the first shot on target against Marseille on the very first matchday of this season’s competition, but then made 19 consecutive saves in Europe before being beaten with the Reds’ eighth shot on target on Tuesday.
“For me we have the best [goalkeeper]we are lucky to have that [Courtois]he made great saves today,” Alonso told Amazon Prime.
One of the main talking points ahead of the meeting was Trent Alexander-Arnold’s return to Anfield following his move to Madrid in the summer.
And indeed, the England international was greeted with a predictably frosty reception when he was introduced from the bench.
@XabiAlonso : “We did well, but lacked some threat in the final third.” pic.twitter.com/Ryn6fNzf4Q
— Real Madrid CF (@realmadriden) November 4, 2025
“Well, that was to be expected,” Alonso said of the Liverpool fans’ reaction.
“He was focused and wanted to be part of it. So it’s the first time. He has challenges ahead of him, it’s a new experience. One step at a time, but we’re happy to have him.”
Reflecting on the match as a whole, Alonso added: “It was a very tight, tight game.
“The momentum gave them the lead and after we tried it was always going to be an intense game. We fought well but in the final third we lacked a bit of threat.
“Unfortunately we couldn’t get anything. We certainly tried, we reached the last line, but we didn’t create as many chances as we expected.”
“Now it’s the group stage of the Champions League and there are still a lot of points to play for.”
Liverpool limited Madrid to just two goal attempts and 0.45 expected goals.
That’s Los Blancos’ lowest xG figure in a match in more than a year.
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