Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois asked his teammates to take a step forward this season to help cover for the loss of veteran striker Karim Benzema.
The Frenchman left the club to move to Saudi Arabia this summer, taking with him, not just his goals, but also his intelligent movement off the ball and his link-up play.
Although Real Madrid has signed Spain international Jose Luis Mato ‘Joselu’ to cover from Benzema’s departure and there is continued talk of an offer for Kylian Mbappe, for the moment, Mbappe isn’t in Spain and Joselu is more a ‘finisher’ than a player who brings companion into the game.
That means there will be a change in Madrid’s style of play when they kick the season off in Bilbao next Saturday.
The club’s pre-season tour of the USA brought mixed results, with coach Carlo Ancelotti giving his player “six out of 10” after wins against AC Milan and Manchester United were followed by defeats to FC Barcelona and Juventus and speaking to Canadian TV network, TLN, Courtois commented that without Benzema, others will have to take more responsibility.
“Others have to take a step forward,” commented the keeper, who expected Brazilian duo Vinicius and Rodrygo, as well as Joselu, to step up and shine. “It’s a team thing and we need to solve it together,” he said.
The former Chelsea and Atletico Madrid keeper also admitted that his side’s form dropped away after the Qatar World Cup finals, surrendering their lead in La Liga to FC Barcelona and being outplayed by Manchester City in their Champions League semifinal.
“Last year we took a downturn after the World Cup, and this year we want to win as many titles as possible and try again,” commented Courtois, focusing on La Liga as his main target.
“At the end of the day, the league is the one that measures the overall tone of a team,” he said.
