Courtois reveals secret to Lionel Messi penalty save after studying PSG star in build-up to Champions League clash

THIBAUT COURTOIS has revealed the secret behind his penalty save against Lionel Messi. The goalkeeper pulled off a fantastic save from the spot in Real Madrid’s 1-0 Champions League defeat at Paris Saint-Germain. Kylian Mbappe was chopped down midway through the second half, giving ex-Barcelona star Messi the chance to score in the last 16, […]

THIBAUT COURTOIS has revealed the secret behind his penalty save against Lionel Messi.

The goalkeeper pulled off a fantastic save from the spot in Real Madrid’s 1-0 Champions League defeat at Paris Saint-Germain.

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Thibaut Courtois studied Lionel Messi’s penalties before saving one from the PSG star[/caption]

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The Real Madrid goalie deduced Messi could only shoot in one possible direction[/caption]

Kylian Mbappe was chopped down midway through the second half, giving ex-Barcelona star Messi the chance to score in the last 16, first leg tie.

However, Courtois had done his homework and dived to his left, parrying Messi’s shot to safety.

The former Chelsea ace has now revealed there were several options due to Messi’s history.

But after calculating the Argentina star’s recent misses from the spot, Courtois ended up being convinced there was only one side he would shoot towards.

Courtois told BT Sport: “Obviously he shoots a lot of penalties in a season so it’s hard to guess right.

“But he missed a few ones on this side [the right] so I think it was obvious he was going to the left.

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“Maybe in the middle he scored one against Leipzig, so I just said ‘okay we will go left’ and I had a good save.”

Courtois also made several top saves to keep PSG at bay throughout the match.

But he was ultimately undone in the 94th minute when Mbappe slipped through Real’s defence before nutmegging the goalie.

Courtois added: “It was just a bit annoying. We lost the ball in midfield, he gets away easily from two players, then obviously you have to close the angle.

“I went down as far as I could to block the far side because he likes to shoot on the left side but the ball went just in the right space under my body.

“It’s a bit hard to take after such a game but it still means we have to win at home, even with a draw we had to win at home anyway.

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“It was a hard game for us offensively, we weren’t calm on the ball and we didn’t have the right passing to cope with their pressure.

“On the counter attack, if you are no 100 per cent good in the Champions League it is hard to create chances.

“At home it will have to be better and I am sure we will do better. We believe and I am sure we can win.”