PSG vs Real Madrid: Thibaut Courtois explains how he saved Lionel Messi's penalty

Ligue 1 giants Paris Saint-Germain(PSG) won their first leg match in the round-of-16 of UEFA Champions League 2021-22 against Real Madrid on Wednesday, courtesy of a late strike by Kylian Mbappe. While Mbappe’s goal in the injury time after 90 minutes of play helped the French club earn a 1-0 win at the Parc des Princes, the scoreline would have been one more sided if not for Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois’ efforts. Thibaut Courtois made nine crucial saves over the course of the match, including one from the Argentine great Lionel Messi.

Speaking to RCM Sport after the match, Courtois made many an interesting revelation by saying that he had researched and studied the seven-time Ballon d’Or award winner’s penalty technique before the match. "I had studied him. He had missed once with Barcelona (against Courtois specifically, back in 2013) but it hit the bar and he had missed one with Paris going to the right side,” the Madrid keeper said.

'I told myself that I had to dive to the left,' says Thibaut Courtois

Further explaining how he decoded Messi’s plans about going to the left side, Courtois added, “I said to myself that he had more confidence on the left side. He had put it there against Bruges, also against Nice in the Coupe de France so I told myself that I had to dive to the left." Messi’s penalty miss against Real Madrid was his fifth miss from the total of 23 attempts that he has made in the tournament. While his others failures came during his time playing at Barcelona for 21 years, he surpassed Portuguese great Cristiano Ronaldo’s record of most overall attempts. 

Leg 2 match of UCL 2021-22 between PSG & Real Madrid to be played on March 10

Both teams meet again on March 10 for the Leg 2 of the round-of-16 in the Champions League. Meanwhile, PSG will play three League 1 matches against Nantes, St-Etienne, and Nice before traveling for the UCL matchup. At the same time, Madrid will lock horns against Alaves, Rayo Vallecano, and Real Sociedad before hosting PSG on March 10.