"Only play from Saturday to Saturday" - Real Madrid star Thibaut Courtois takes cheeky dig at Barcelona following 2-0 win over Cadiz
Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois appears to have taken a dig at arch-rivals Barcelona following Los Blancos' win over Cadiz on Saturday, April 15.
Carlo Ancelotti's side beat the 15th-placed team courtesy of goals from Nacho Hernandez and Marco Asensio. With the win, they reduced the gap with league leaders Barca to 10 points, having played one more game.
After the game, Courtois acknowledged the gap and pointed out that Real Madrid are also competing in multiple competitions. He said (via @MadridXtra):
"There is a long distance in points with Barcelona, but we still have the Copa del Rey final and we play during the week. Others only play from Saturday to Saturday."
Real Madrid beat Barcelona in the semi-finals of the Copa del Rey 4-1 on aggregate and will now face Osasuna in the final on May 6. They will also face Chelsea in the UEFA Champions League quarter-final second leg on April 18. They won the first leg 2-0 at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Barca, meanwhile, were eliminated from the Champions League at the group stage. They then lost against Manchester United in the UEFA Europa League playoffs as well.
Carlo Ancelotti on Real Madrid's win over Cadiz
Manager Carlo Ancelotti picked a heavily rotated side against Cadiz with the likes of Luka Modric and Dani Carvajal starting on the bench. Toni Kroos and Vinicius Jr., meanwhile, missed out due to muscle strains.
Despite these absentees, Real Madrid put in a dominant display against the 15th-placed Cadiz on Saturday. They had 35 shots on goal, with 11 being on target, and dominated the game with 70% possession.
Ancelotti was 'pleased' with his side's performance, as he said (via Tribal Football):
“I'm pleased with the way the team played. It was a good performance at an important moment in the season. The players' attitude on the pitch was outstanding, despite it not being easy to prepare for..."
He added:
“We're doing really well and you can see that on the pitch. The team has energy and the fact that we have a 35-year-old who had a fantastic game on Wednesday night and three days later he put on another great display is a sign that the team's doing well. We could do better in the league, but we suffered a lot in January. We dropped points that give us a disadvantage at the moment."
Real Madrid will now travel to face Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday as they look to secure their spot in the Champions League semi-finals. They will face either Manchester City or Bayern Munich in the semis. City hold a 3-0 advantage over the Bavarians after the first leg.