With Spanish giants Real Madrid going into half-time 2-0 down to Percy Tau's Club Brugge in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday night, goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois was replaced at the break, and the reason for the change has now reportedly been revealed.
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Manager Zinedine Zidane fumed at his side's defending in the first half at the Santiago Bernabeu on Tuesday, but was pleased to see his team salvage a draw with two goals in the second stanza.
As the teams came out for the second 45 minutes, one player who did not re-emerge from the Los Blancos dressing room was goalkeeper Courtois, who has been criticised for a number of performances since joining Real last year.
The substitution, however, was not due to match circumstances, but rather to the Belgian shot-stopper suffering from stomach cramps, as confirmed by the club.
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There is concern among supporters around the goalkeeping situation at Los Blancos, which was said to be one the reasons that led to Zidane's exit from Real at the end of the 2017/18 season.
The Frenchman is believed to have preferred Costa Rica goalkeeper Keylor Navas, now on loan at Paris Saint-Germain, ahead of the Belgian, and in fact never wanted Courtois at Real to begin with. Alphonse Areola, now at the Santiago Bernabeu on loan from the French champions, replaced Courtois against Brugge, and managed to keep a clean sheet in the rest of the match.
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The French shot-stopper has now featured twice for Real, and is yet to concede a goal.
Do you think Courtois should be dropped for Areola? Let us know in the comments section below.
