Thibaut Courtois: Real Madrid won't cry about injuries after Getafe stalemate
Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois said his side would not use their growing injury list as an excuse after their La Liga title hopes were dented by a 0-0 draw at struggling Getafe on Sunday.
Zinedine Zidane was able to name only 13 outfield players in the squad for the match at Coliseum Alfonso Perez and Real will count themselves fortunate to leave with a draw, which left them three points behind leaders Atletico Madrid with seven games left.
"You find strength in adversity and now is not the time to cry about all the players we have missing. We have to stand tall. Every player who is at Real Madrid is here for a reason," Courtois told the club's official television channel.
"We are a little disappointed with the point but it's not easy when you're playing so many games."
Suspensions to midfield anchor Casemiro, defender Nacho Fernandez plus a fresh injury to Ferland Mendy left them further depleted, while Federico Valverde also had to miss the game after a close contact tested positive for Covid-19.
The litany of absences meant coach Zinedine Zidane had to call upon youngsters Antonio Blanco and Sergio Arribas from the bench, both of whom had played 90 minutes for Real's reserve side the day before.
Courtois added: "We might be stretched to the limit right now but we were not thinking too much about it. We just have to recover well and rest well, that's all we can do."
La Liga leaders Atletico Madrid thrashed basement club Eibar 5-0 in an emphatic response to a stuttering run of results which had let their rivals back into the title race.
Atletico were missing two of their top forwards in Luis Suarez and Joao Felix but Argentine striker Angel Correa took responsibility in attack, scoring twice at the end of the first half to put the hosts in charge.
Yannick Carrasco further stretched their lead soon after the interval before Marcos Llorente struck twice to complete the rout as his side picked up a first victory in three matches after drawing 1-1 at Real Betis and losing 1-0 at Sevilla.
Atletico top the standings on 70 points after 31 games.
"It gives us enormous joy to win this game so comfortably and so convincingly," Correa told reporters.
"The game was pretty tight until the first goal but then the game opened up and we were able to wrap it up."