Belgian goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois of Real Madrid appeared in important press statements following the defeat against English club Arsenal and the exit from the UEFA Champions League in the quarter-finals.

Courtois said: "In the end, when a penalty is awarded against you, and if you manage to save it, you still believe in qualification. Initially, we had some chances, and the crowd was supporting us, but Arsenal is an organized team that defends well. At halftime, we felt that we could come back if we scored the first goal, but they managed to score first, and we equalized quickly, yet we couldn't score again."

He added: "I think Arsenal was the better team, and we must be realistic and accept that."

He continued: "Arsenal defends well and is excellently organized; it is difficult to create opportunities against them. We put in many crosses, but we lack a pure striker this season, and we need to analyze how we can improve our attacking performance in the upcoming matches."

He went on: "Sometimes we need to be honest with ourselves; we feel we are a talented team, but we need to play as a unit and not just rely on individual play. If they play against us in a 2-on-1 against Vinicius or Kylian, that might work once, but not every time."

Despite the European elimination, Courtois emphasized that the team still has a lot to achieve this season, saying: "The season is not over yet; we have many upcoming challenges. We are focusing on the league, as well as the Copa del Rey in the next ten days, in addition to the Club World Cup. We want to continue fighting to achieve our goals."