Thibaut Courtois Says Pressure Is Part of Real Madrid Job Amid Form Struggles

Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois has said everyone has to accept pressure in order to star at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu. 

Courtois, 27, has fallen under scrutiny following a mixed first season in Madrid and some shaky performances in this second campaign. On Tuesday, he was forced off at half-time during Real's 2-2 UEFA Champions League draw at home with Club Brugge due to a reported bout of gastroenteritis.

The stopper has since spoken to Marca and said: "If you want to be a Real Madrid goalkeeper, you have to accept this pressure."

A recent AS cover contrasted the Belgian keeper's current record against those at previous clubs—and it doesn't make for positive reading if you're a Real supporter:

Courtois joined Real from Chelsea in August 2018 after forcing his way out of Stamford Bridge. Competition in Madrid looked to have eased this past summer, when No. 2 Keylor Navas was sold to Paris Saint-Germain and Alphonse Areola joined Real on loan in his place.

The Belgium international kept his first clean sheets of the campaign in Real's last two league outings. Areola also kept a clean sheet in the recent 2-0 win over Osasuna (his La Liga debut).

Former Premier League midfielder Martin Allen recently said on Love Sport Radio he felt Zinedine Zidane's preference was the reason behind Courtois' half-time substitution against Brugge: 

The Belgian visitors stunned their hosts to lead 2-0 at the break on Tuesday, and Areola did better to keep a clean sheet in the second period.

Los Blancos were beaten 3-0 away to PSG in their first game of the Champions League group, after which Navas let his former Real rival know who was in better form, per Optus Sport:

Courtois has been far from the success Navas was following his first season in Spain, per FOX Soccer:

The Bernabeu is a pressure-filled environment in which not every star is designed to dazzle, and being a goalkeeper at Real in the post-Cristiano Ronaldo hasn't been an easy task for Courtois thus far.

Zidane's men return to La Liga at home to Granada on Saturday, when Courtois will hope to recover from his reported illness and reclaim his spot as No. 1.