Since dressing for Real Madrid in 2018, Thibaut Courtois has never found himself under such a cannonade in the first eight matches of the campaign. The Belgian goalkeeper had to save as many as 37 accurate shots, surpassing his previous anti-record from 2020. Despite the constant pressure, the goalkeeper maintains a remarkable level and demonstrates a 76% success rate in saves.
The pressure on the Belgian goalkeeper is enormous. In his ninth campaign at the “Santiago Bernabéu“ Courtois is being put to an unprecedented test, with an average of 4.6 shots on goal per game, compared to a typical average of 3.6 in recent years. The result is nine goals conceded, with only the experienced goalkeeper's phenomenal saves preventing even more serious consequences for the “Whites”. The keeper continues to work wonders on the goal line, but his workload is reaching critical levels.
So far, the weakest defensive indicator for this period was recorded in the 2020/21 pandemic season - the last of Zinedine Zidane's tenure, marked by home defeats to Cadiz and Shakhtar. Then 35 shots were conceded. In the first year under Carlo Ancelotti, the figure reached 34, but subsequently the defense stabilized. As for the most goals conceded in the first eight matches, the record remains from the Belgian's debut season (2018/19), when the ball stopped in his net 12 times.
After a relatively calm start to the season, when in the first three matches the opponents did not make more than three accurate shots, Real's defensive line began to crack. In the clash against Inter, the Belgian saved seven out of eight shots, showing exceptional class. This was followed by seven more shots from Rayo Vallecano and a new pressure with seven shots from “Metropolitano“ against Atletico.
The obvious problem facing the Spanish giants lies in the systematic hesitant performances in defensive terms. The match against Inter ranked 11th among the matches with the most shots on Courtois since 2018. The club record for this period is 11 shots in a single match - a feat recorded against Benfica, Pachuca and Arsenal.
So far this season, the Belgian has managed to keep just one clean sheet - in the home win over Malaga. While his teammates travelled with their national teams, Thibaut remained at the club's base in Valdebebas to train after temporarily withdrawing from the Belgium national team.