Ancelotti: Courtois to start Champions League final

Carlo Ancelotti has confirmed Thibaut Courtois will start in goal for Real Madrid in the Champions League final against Borussia Dortmund on Saturday.

Much of the pre-match talk centred around which goalkeeper Ancelotti would choose after Andriy Lunin played a pivotal role in helping the team to the final while Courtois was out with a long-term knee injury.

However, it appeared the Ukrainian ruled himself out of the game in a social media post on Thursday, saying: “I am very sad to say that I won’t be able to prepare for the most important game of the season and the most important game of my life with my team.

“Many thanks for the messages of support and encouragement!”

In his press conference on Friday, Ancelotti said that Courtois will be starting in goal as Lunin has been suffering with the flu and had to travel separately from the rest of the squad.

The Belgian recently returned to action by featuring in four LaLiga games earlier this month, keeping clean sheets in all of them.

Courtois was also named Player of the Match in the 2022 Champions League final due to his brilliant performance in their 1-0 win over Liverpool.

@thibautcourtois
@lukamodric10#UCLfinal | #APorLa15 pic.twitter.com/hzvb5es95B

— Real Madrid C.F. (@realmadriden) May 30, 2024