Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois has revealed that shots fired by Lamine Yamal before last month’s Clásico match against Barcelona actually helped Los Blancos win.
Madrid lost all four times they faced Barcelona last season, part of a disastrous trophy-less season for the club, as they also watched the Catalans claim a historic domestic treble.
In the build-up to October’s meeting at the Santiago Bernabéu, Yamal had joked publicly about Madrid’s reputation among critics. “They steal, they complain,” the teenager said.
Yamal found himself at the center of the team’s ire as things unfolded and after the final whistle was angrily confronted by Los Blancos captain Dani Carvajal, who made talking gestures with his hand. At that point, Courtois also ran over to give a piece of his mind in the postgame scuffle.
The goalkeeper has now revealed that, while Madrid players were keen to let Yamal know what they thought of him in victory, the episode had already served to motivate Xabi Alonso’s team.
“Lamine Yamal spoke in a certain way and lit a bit of a fire under the match, and of course the press took advantage of the topic,” Courtois told .
“I saw that he was talking with Carvajal, and of course if you start saying something, I’ll say something too. But as I said before, we’re in an atmosphere of high tension and adrenaline, and sometimes you say things that weren’t necessary afterward.”
