Thibaut Courtois accused La Liga furiously of a “lack of respect” for Real Madrid about their planning decisions.
The Spanish giants enjoyed a positive week while they conquered City Rivals Atletico Madrid to reach the quarter -finals of the Champions League. It took extra time and a controversial penalty shootout for them to finally move forward.
And they built on that result when a Kylian Mbappe brace saw from Villarreal on Saturday. But Courtois was still angry with the timing of that match, the kick -off arrived barely 72 hours after their match against Atletico ended.
Speaking to As, the Belgian keeper said: “In the end we play when we have to play. We don't want any apologies, I am glad I can speak and say that we have not lost despite the lack of rest. It is not normal to play 120 minutes on Wednesday, punishes, with all that wear, and today to play at 6:30 PM.
“I understand that La Liga does not like to place the big three on the same day. But sometimes it is what is needed, the Premier League often does it.
“I think it was a lack of respect for our team. We may leave with an injured player because of the lack of rest. You could play on Sunday, a super Sunday, such as in England. That Real Madrid plays for and then Athleti and Barcelona. Because TV is also good, but other interests sometimes play. “
Courtois' comments are very similar to those of the real boss Carlo Ancelotti, who was also left angry with the planning of the game. The Italian said: 'I am very proud.
“It was a fall game, because of everything that happened, because of the hours of rest and because of the power of the opponent, who are a good team, but we have weakened physically. The team was exhausted, it's very normal. It is a victory that says a lot about this team and the resources of this team. “
He added: “The explanation is that this team has something special, character, dedication, they can't always do it, sometimes I even get angry with them. We have to thank these players for their enormous effort since January 3. Even more today.
“It's the last time we started playing before 72 hours. We will never do it again. We have asked La Liga twice to change the schedule and nothing has happened. This is the last time we played a game without 72 hours of rest. We will not play when it happens again. “
Real Madrid is currently three points clearly at the top of La Liga. They will record the Arsenal in the quarterfinals of the Champions League.
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