Courtois: "Sometimes during matches, I say how lucky I am to play with Mbappé and not against him"

Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois praised his French teammate Kylian Mbappé, who is delivering exceptional performances this season. Mbappé scored two goals in his team's 3-0 victory over Athletic Bilbao on Wednesday evening, in a rescheduled match for La Liga's 19th round.

When asked about Mbappé after the match, Courtois stated: "Playing with him is better than facing him. No one possesses his incredible speed; he is currently unstoppable. During matches, I often tell myself, 'How lucky I am to play with him.' We enjoy his performance and contribution, and he also creates space for the rest of the attackers."

Regarding what had changed today compared to the previous match where Real Madrid drew against Girona, the Belgian goalkeeper replied: "In the first half against Girona, we didn't put in enough effort, and we must realize that today, if we don't play with full energy, we could easily lose. We agreed that we needed to stop talking and start working. Athletic Bilbao plays with a high defensive line, and there are more spaces."

It is worth noting that Kylian Mbappé has so far scored 25 goals and provided 4 assists in 20 matches played across La Liga and the Champions League.