Spanish goalkeeping icon Santi Cañizares has defended Real Madrid’s Thibaut Courtois, insisting that there was nothing he could do to prevent Declan Rice’s superb free kicks in the 3-0 defeat to Arsenal.
El Desmarque cover comments from the former goalkeeper today in which he defends Courtois and credits the Arsenal man for both goals.
Rice was the hero of the night at the Emirates, first stepping up to curl in a superb free kick from distance into the inside post and beyond Courtois to hand Arsenal a 1-0 lead.
He then repeated the trick not long afterwards, this time curling in a sumptuous free kick into the top corner that Courtois was again, nowhere near saving.
Mikel Merino added a cooly taken third with his well-placed finish in the bottom corner to seal a stunning victory for Arsenal over the Champions League holders.
Courtois faced criticism after the game for conceding all three goals but particularly the free kicks, with some questioning the positioning of his walls and his positioning in general.
Santi Cañizares is having none of that, though, and insists that the Belgian was simply beaten by two moments of magic from the Arsenal star.
“It is very difficult in today’s football to see goals from direct free kicks and we have seen two of them,” he told Movistar.
“In this one (the first of the free-kicks) everyone is looking for Courtois’ responsibility in that barrier, but the free-kick is very far away. And in this one… Everyone will say it’s the goalkeeper’s post.
“That’s a lie in football. The goalkeeper never has any post, if the ball goes to the top corner, the goalkeeper never gets there.
“I give a lot of credit to the shooter. It’s a very difficult thing in modern football. These kinds of shots for the goalkeeper are extremely difficult. When these things happen, it’s to the credit of the kicker.”
Courtois was also asked after the game what he felt about the two goals, admitting that Rice caught him off guard, something he hopes to change for the second leg.
“I knew I was going to have my work cut out today. They’re a team that attacks well,” he said.
“The free-kicks… the first one I thought I’d put up a good wall, I always put one too many so that the free-kick doesn’t go through. The free kicks I saw from him I knew he hit them well.
“He scored two great goals, especially the second one. I’ll keep studying for the second leg, so I don’t get a goal like that.”
