Atletico Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois has claimed he is convinced his team knows how to beat Real Madrid. The Belgium showed confidence in beating their city rivals in Saturday’s derby for the second time in 14 years.
Los Colchoneros had gone 25 matches without a win until last season’s Copa del Rey final, when they beat Los Blancos at the Santiago Bernabeu with a 1-2.
“We have a good team and we know how to beat Real,” the goalkeeper told Spanish newspaper As. “These are just three more points, another final for us. As a footballer you never go out to draw, you always go out to win,” he added.
Asked about the threat of Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale powerful shots, Courtois said “in the penalty area you are always afraid when they are going to shoot, but you learn in talks and with videos about players. With Belgium I already played against Bale, and some team-mates who play at Tottenham told me how he hit the ball. I have been in La Liga for three years, and I know how Cristiano hits his free-kicks.”
Atletico sits second in La Liga after having won all their six games this season -but with a worse goal record than Barcelona. They will seek to maintain that unbeaten run against their archi-rivals, who sit two points behind in the table.
