Thibaut Courtois reveals how Real Madrid reduced Erling Haaland to having LEAST touches on the pitch in semi-final
THIBAUT COURTOIS has revealed how Real Madrid were able to nullify Erling Haaland in their semi-final clash.
The Spanish giants restricted Haaland to just 21 touches during the game, less than any other player.
It was their organised defence that allowed Madrid to keep control of the game and see the first leg end as a 1-1 draw.
Courtois spoke after the match about how they managed to keep Haaland quiet despite the Norwegian’s blistering form.
He said: “If you want to defend against Haaland, you don’t give him the space to run. We tried to avoid that.
“We played well. As a consequence they shot more from distance. It pushed us deeper.
“A good draw and everything to play for next week. It will be like a final. We’re quite good at winning finals. Hopefully we can approach it like that.
“Man City are a team who play with possession. With Haaland they play more direct. Sometimes in the Premier League Ederson kicks really deep. We dropped down to not give them that space.
“Sometimes we didn’t control our game. They pressed well and you don’t want to take too many risks at the back.”
Haaland was kept so quiet that Spanish publication Marca SAVAGED him after the game – they gave him a score of just 3/10.
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Haaland’s dad Alfie didn’t have a much better night either, with the former Man City player EXPELLED from his box by security.
It was a spectacular Kevin De Bruyne long shot that allowed Man City back into the game after going behind to a first half Vinicius Junior goal.
The two sides will face off again next week at the Etihad Stadium as they battle it out for a place in the Champions League final.
City will be hoping they can get the better of Ancelotti’s side to take another step towards a historic treble winning season.
They first have to travel to Goodison Park where they face a relegation scrapping Everton side in the Premier League on Sunday.