Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois spoke to the press following the 3-0 victory over Manchester City in the first leg of the Champions League round of 16 at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium.

The Belgian goalkeeper said in his statement: "We gave a great, excellent performance. We have not yet reached the halfway point of the match, but I am very happy with the effort and enthusiasm. This is great. We have injuries, but that is not an excuse. It's a good result, but it's just a step. I remember our previous defeats at the Etihad, and anything is possible."

He added: "Valverde's performance? I am very happy. He is very fast, very strong, and shoots well. We trained a little on that, and it worked excellently. The third goal was fantastic."

On the marking of Haaland by Guler and Fran Garcia during corners: "Not conceding any goals. They are tall, and the average height of our players ranges between 1.75 and 1.80 meters. For me, set pieces mean preventing them from touching the ball. Once, they closed my back. We have to continue, and next week they will look for a new way. In their first corner, Semedo slipped, but it was a good attack."

On Vinicius's missed penalty: "It's unfortunate, but there are always possibilities. They could have scored too. Maybe if Vinicius had scored, the result would have been 4-1."

He emphasized: "We need to review ourselves. We have to play with the same enthusiasm and focus that we showed today. This is what we did today. And we have to change that in some games. In La Liga, there are teams that defend very deeply against us, and we have to find solutions for that. Today, with Brahim and Guler, we found the solutions."

He continued: "It was one of the best matches this season, along with the Barcelona match in the league. There were other matches, but I hope we benefit from what we learned today and remember it for the rest of the season."

On Arbeloa comparing Valverde to Juanito: "I didn't see him play, he is a legendary player. Fede is a legend of this club. Happy. I saw him exhausted, like many others. I wish him a speedy recovery."