Thibaut Courtois said Real Madrid “aren’t afraid of anyone” as they await Friday’s Champions League playoff draw, which will see them face Manchester City or Celtic for a place in the round of 16.
Madrid beat Brest 3-0 on Wednesday — forward Rodrygo scored twice — to end the league phase in eleventh place, on 15 points.
That means they will face either City or Celtic in the playoff round next month, with a possible round-of-16 tie to follow against Bayer Leverkusen or Atlético Madrid.
“I’ve said it before, we didn’t miss out on the top eight today, but in other games,” Courtois told Movistar. “We’ll have to play the playoff, and see who we play against. It’s our job to be ready, and wait. But we’re not afraid of anyone.”
Madrid had a difficult league phase, with defeats to Lille, AC Milan and Liverpool seeing the reigning European champions miss out on the top eight.
The LaLiga giants have played City in the Champions League in each of the last three seasons, eliminating the Premier League side on the way to winning the trophy in both 2022 and 2024.
“It is what it is,” Courtois said, when asked about the prospect of another City tie. “We played them in knockout games last year, two years ago, and three years ago. If we have to play City, if you want to win the Champions League, you have to beat the best.
“City are more likely to win the Champions League, that’s the reality,” coach Carlo Ancelotti said in his postmatch news conference. “We don’t like playing against City, but if we have to play City, we’ll do it, as we have in previous years.”
Rodrygo has now scored four Champions League goals in a week, after also grabbing a brace against Salzburg on Jan. 22. “[The top eight] was our objective,” Rodrygo told Movistar.
“In some games we didn’t do well, but it happened, we have to keep going, and working and improving.”
The Brazil international said hadn’t been aware of scorelines elsewhere in Europe, with Madrid’s possible playoff opponents being dictated by their final position in the table. “I tried to focus on the game, on scoring goals,” Rodrygo said.
“Whoever we play it will be difficult… [City] would be difficult, as always. Every game against them is difficult.”
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