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Carlo Ancelotti was asked if he had ever seen a goalkeeping performance like Thibaut Courtois’ and his reply summed up what he thinks of the Belgian: ‘I have seen plenty,’ he said, ‘but also from Courtois’.
The former Chelsea keeper has been outstanding all season but there were still those who doubted the claims emanating from Madrid that he’s now the best in the world. On Saturday night he proved it over 90 minutes to win his first Champions League.
‘I needed to win a final for my career and for people to respect me because I don’t think they do especially in England,’ he said after the performance of his life with nine saves to keep Liverpool at bay.
Real Madrid's Thibaut Courtois was named man of the match in the Champions League final
‘I just feel sorry for my brother,’ he added. ‘He is getting married on Sunday and I can’t be there.’
Respect as always been a problem for Courtois. He performed well at Chelsea and Atletico Madrid but neither set of supporters seemed to have any enduring affection for him.
They booed him at Stamford Bridge when he went back in a Real Madrid shirt and they pelted him with toy rats at Atletico’s Metropolitano stadium.
His manager Carlo Ancelotti lavished praise on him post-match at the Stade de France
His only previous final had been in 2014 for Atletico and he was seconds from finishing it as a
