Real Madrid goalkeeper Courtois warns Endrick after FC Barcelona defeat

Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois has warned new signing Endrick to calm down after his side lost a friendly to rivals FC Barcelona at the MetLife Stadium on Saturday.

Like coach Carlo Ancelotti, who said “let’s not go crazy” after Los Blancos’ second consecutive defeat on their US warm-up tour, Courtois was reluctant to read too much into the result against Barca.

“It’s pre-season. We’re working and obviously there are things we can maybe improve. But in the end, we’re with those who are here and they are too,” he commented, about a depleted squad without many important stars.

“In the end, it’s a friendly that doesn’t give much more than maybe the prestige of pre-season, of winning this match. I think we had chances to do more. They may (have had chances to do more) too and in the end the result is what it is.

“We are not worried, we have to keep working. On Tuesday against Chelsea we may have to leave a little better impression (and score) more goals. But it’s all good,” insisted the Belgian.

Rather than criticising his teammates, Courtois singled out youngsters Arda Guler and Endrick for praise.

“Endrick has a lot of strength, a lot of power, and maybe he needs to be a little bit calmer. I’m not saying he’s nervous, but it’s normal when you’re playing for Madrid in big games and you get a little bit more nervous. But you can see in training that he has a lot of goals and a lot of strength,” Courtois explained.

“And Arda, he’s a different Arda compared to last year. After his knee injury, he worked a lot in the gym and you can see that physically he’s a different guy. He has a lot of arrival (in the box), a lot of passing. We have a lot of good players and they’re going to fight for places and that’s what helps Madrid to be Madrid and win trophies,” said Courtois.

As the goalkeeper highlighted, Madrid’s next match will be a tour-ending match against Chelsea, Courtois and Ancelotti’s former club.