Thibaut Courtois Delivers Brutal Honesty After Real Madrid's Shocking Club World Cup Collapse

Thibaut Courtois was brutally honest about Real Madrid's shortcomings following their FIFA Club World Cup elimination.

The Spanish powerhouse entered their Club World Cup encounter against Paris Saint-Germain with an unblemished record under new manager Xabi Alonso. Real Madrid appeared revitalized during their time in the United States, securing victories in four out of five games leading up to the semifinal stage, following a disappointing final season under Carlo Ancelotti's leadership.

However, their display against PSG brought back memories of the Ancelotti period. Real Madrid allowed three goals within the opening 24 minutes, appeared disjointed in both offensive and defensive phases, and were unable to score in what became a comprehensive 4-0 loss.

Following the encounter, Courtois addressed the press regarding the team's deficiencies in the one-sided affair, pointing out the persistent problems that emerged at MetLife Stadium.

"What went wrong? We failed to press collectively as a unit. There were two major errors early in the match that impacted our performance," Courtois explained.

Defensive errors from Raúl Asencio, who was deputizing for the suspended Dean Huijsen, and Antonio Rüdiger handed PSG their opening two goals within nine minutes. The French side could have scored additional goals in the early phases, but Courtois made crucial saves to temporarily contain the damage.

Beyond their careless defending, Real Madrid also struggled with their pressing game. Once they fell behind by two goals, the La Liga second-place team permitted PSG to control possession and made minimal attempts to regain the ball. Kylian Mbappé and Vinícius Júnior, specifically, were virtually motionless without possession and displayed little desire to track back defensively.

"We couldn't execute Xabi [Alonso's] tactical approach for the match. We must take time to review it, but from my perspective, we were consistently late to every situation," Courtois stated.

Alonso has been determined to implement an intense, proactive pressing style from every player on the field at Real Madrid, but it was evident his squad hasn't fully embraced his new philosophy. Consequently, PSG dominated proceedings at MetLife Stadium.