Despite Thibaut Courtois’s return to action last Saturday in the league, Carlo Ancelotti, the coach of Real Madrid, will stick with Ukrainian Andriy Lunin in goal for the Champions League semi-final second leg against Bayern Munich this Wednesday at the Santiago Bernabeu.
This season, we’ve seen little of him in La Liga. Belgian international Thibaut Courtois won’t be starting in the Champions League semi-final second leg against Bayern Munich. Carlo Ancelotti will trust Lunin, as he explained in the pre-match press conference:
“Yes, Lunin will play. The plan for a player returning after such a big injury doesn’t change due to a situation. Thibaut played because he was very good and now he’ll need time to reach his best form. The plan hasn’t changed because of the match. He played an optimal match, but he needs to reach his best level.”
A Giant Relegated to the Bench
Ancelotti had already revealed his plans last Friday: “Courtois will play against Cadiz the next day, Lunin against Bayern, and for the future, we’ll see.”
The Ukrainian goalkeeper became the number one choice over his Belgian counterpart starting from November. Following the Belgian player’s injury earlier in the season, the club brought in Spaniard Kepa Arrizabalaga to start. However, Lunin proved decisive and pushed the Chelsea loanee to the bench.
This season, the Ukrainian international (11 caps) has played 29 matches in all competitions, with just one defeat. He particularly shone in the penalty shootout in the quarter-final second leg against Manchester City (1-1, 5-4 on penalties), saving attempts from Bernardo Silva and Matteo Kovacic.
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