Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois has denied claims that his team got lucky in their stunning Champions League quarter-final success over Chelsea.
Having dramatically overturned a two-goal first leg deficit and gone ahead in the tie at the Bernabeu, Chelsea were pegged back late on by a Rodrygo volley before Karim Benzema sent Real through with an extra-time header.
Chelsea were the better team in Madrid on the night, and speaking after the game their former player Courtois accepted that.
"We weren’t lucky, but it’s true that they were the better team," he said. "We ultimately won the tie."
Mason Mount, Antonio Rudiger and Timo Werner handed Chelsea a three-goal lead before Real Madrid responded, with Rodrygo volleying in from a sublime pass by Luka Modric to take the game to extra time.
Benzema then poetically decided the tie as he headed a 96th minute winner to lead Los Blancos to a 5-4 aggregate win over the Blues in order to claim their spot in the Champions League semi-final.
Real Madrid, who are 12 points ahead at the top of La Liga, will now look ahead to their probable semi-final opponents as Manchester City and Atletico Madrid gear up for their clash on Wednesday night.
With European competiton out of their way, Chelsea will now return to action in the FA Cup as they take on Crystal Palace in the semi-final on Sunday before facing Arsenal at Stamford Bridge in a London derby in the Premier League on Wednesday.
This article was originally published on 90min as Thibaut Courtois denies Real Madrid were lucky in aggregate win over Chelsea.
Source: www.90min.com