Real Madrid’s draw with Girona was also commented by the players. The protagonists on the pitch, who were also closer to the controversial episodes tried to explain their opinions. First it was Courtois who revealed his confusion about the handball rules and then it was Dani Carvajal who tried to focus more on the team’s performance stating that the best thing is to move on, despite the fact that controversial moments may change the direction of the game.
Courtois expressed himself as follows: “I haven't seen the replay, so I can't have an opinion. They say it came after a deflection, that it hit Marco on the chest first and then his hand. In theory, from what I remember from the talk by the referees at the start of the season, it's not a handball if it hits something else first. I don't think they give that in the Champions League, but they viewed it as a handball and that's all there is to it. It's very strange, sometimes it's a handball, sometimes it isn't. We don't know what is and what isn't anymore".
He added: "At 1-0 in the second half, you feel like you're going to win it. But unfortunately then the penalty was given and we weren't able to come back. We have to look at ourselves, we missed a few chances. We're still top, there are two LaLiga games left before the World Cup and we have to win them”.
Rodrygo's ruled-out goal: “I didn't see it because I'm a long way away. As a goalkeeper, if you have a hand on the ball, nobody is meant to be able to touch it. If his hand isn't right on top of the ball, then that shouldn't be the case and the goal should be given”.
Upcoming games: “We're not thinking about the World Cup. We haven't been up to the standards we set ourselves this week, but we want to win games. We lacked a bit of rhythm in both games and it's tough against Girona because they defend very well".
"We have the Champions League again on Wednesday, we have to win it to finish top of the group. Then we've got Rayo on Monday, that's always a tough game, and then Cádiz on Thursday, which will be similar to today because they're solid defensively. We have to win all three and head off to the World Cup happy".
Carvajal’s words: “We weren't able to pick up another win today but we're still top and every team would like to be in our position. We did enough to win the game. They had a couple of chances where they failed to score. We struggled in the first half but we were more fluid in the second".
"A key moment was that superb save their goalkeeper made from Marco's shot that would have made it 2-0 and pretty much wrapped it up. Then a moment from a set-piece with all the commotion has cost us and we didn't manage to score in the end. Now it's about focusing on Wednesday's final because we want to finish top of the group".
Penalty: “The referee viewed it as handball and a penalty, we move on. We're not going to think about it anymore, it was given and we didn't manage to win the game. We have to try and fix the mistakes we made today and carry on".
Rodrygo's ruled-out goal: “I was a long way away. The referee said the goalkeeper had the ball in his grasp with his hand on the ground".
Right ankle: “It was a bit of a twist when I stood on it, but I bandaged it up at half-time to come back and try to win the game, although it wasn't to be".
Comments