Courtois reaches 100 Champions League games with seven saves against Inter

Real Madrid won another match from the goalkeeper position. Thibaut Courtois celebrated his 100th Champions League appearance with a masterclass against Inter: seven saves, several of them extremely difficult, to keep the team standing while the Italian side controlled long stretches of the game. The Belgian was decisive from the start and remained crucial until the final minutes, when the match caught fire with the score at 2-1.

• Courtois played his 100th Champions League match and became the first Belgian player to reach that milestone.
• He made seven saves against Inter, several of them vital to keeping Real Madrid in the game.
• José Mourinho said after the match that Courtois should have been named MVP.
• He is the eighth goalkeeper in the history of the competition to reach 100 appearances.
• This season he is working with Nuno Santos, the goalkeeping coach who arrived with Mourinho after the departure of Luis Llopis.

Courtois joins the most exclusive club in the Champions League with 100 games

The night against Inter carried special meaning for the goalkeeper. Courtois reached 100 appearances in Europe's top club competition and entered a very select group of players. The breakdown of his century reflects his career path: 72 games with Real Madrid, 16 with Chelsea and 12 with Atlético Madrid. No other Belgian goalkeeper had ever reached such a figure.

He also became the eighth goalkeeper in Champions League history to hit 100 appearances. It is not a minor statistic: it speaks of consistency at the highest level, of permanence among the elite and of the trust that major clubs have placed in him for more than a decade.

From the Paris final to today: Real Madrid's decisive goalkeeper

The milestone came with another memorable performance. Courtois' ability to decide knockout ties and finals remains fully intact. The clearest proof is still the 2022 Paris final against Liverpool, one of the greatest displays by a goalkeeper in a Champions League final. That night he made nine saves and was named player of the match.

Four years later, his influence on the team has not changed. He transmits the same sense of security, keeps his reflexes sharp and maintains that ability to make himself huge when a striker is staring at an open goal. Against Inter, that version of Courtois reappeared exactly when Madrid needed it most.

Nuno Santos replaces Luis Llopis: how Courtois has handled the change in goal

This season brought a significant change for Courtois. The arrival of José Mourinho on the bench also meant a transformation in his coaching staff and the departure of Luis Llopis, with whom the Belgian had built an extraordinarily close relationship over eight years. Llopis had been a key figure in his daily work.

Mourinho landed at Real Madrid with his own goalkeeping coach, Nuno Santos, a man of absolute trust for the Portuguese manager. The club backed the new technical team and Courtois, always grateful to Llopis, understood and accepted the decision. He immediately began working with Santos and his methods.

For a goalkeeper, changing coaches after so many years is no small matter. Yet the Belgian's response has been outstanding. His performances have not suffered and his security between the posts remains exactly the same.

Why Courtois is skipping the Nations League with Belgium

Courtois has decided not to play in the Nations League with his national team. He believes he needs to manage his workload better and use those international windows to rest, train and reduce risks after dealing with different physical problems over recent seasons.

After always giving everything for Belgium, his immediate priority is now clear: Real Madrid. He wants to extend his career at the highest level and understands that doing so requires listening to his body more and more. He is 34 years old and knows exactly what a season at the Spanish club demands, where virtually every match forces you to compete at the limit.

Courtois' hunger for trophies in the new Mourinho era

Courtois has one obsession this season: winning again. He wants to put last year's trophy drought behind him and lift silverware with Real Madrid once more. He knows the team is starting a new chapter under Mourinho and that there is still a long road ahead, but also that his role will be fundamental while the new project settles.

The Belgian is one of the leaders in the dressing room. Because of his age, career, performances and personality, his voice carries weight within the group. He has experienced almost everything in a white shirt: difficult moments, Champions League titles, comebacks, historic nights and also the serious knee injury that threatened to sideline him for a long time. He came back from it as the same goalkeeper.

And he has already started doing his part with performances like the one against Inter. While the new project gets up to speed, Courtois remains the constant that never changes: the goalkeeper who appears whenever Real Madrid needs a miracle.