Real Madrid's Thibaut Courtois Says "It Was Obvious" Where Lionel Messi's Penalty Was Going

Thibaut Courtois was Real Madrid's man of the match against Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday with his standout moment coming when he saved a Lionel Messi penalty.

Thibaut Courtois was Real Madrid's man of the match against Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday with his standout moment coming when he saved a Lionel Messi penalty.

Courtois got down quickly to his left in the 62nd minute to deny Messi, who has now failed to convert five of his last 10 spot-kicks.

The Belgian goalkeeper later suggested that studying Messi's recent misses helped him anticipate where the PSG forward was going to place his shot.

Courtois went as far as to say it was "obvious" that Messi was going to shoot to the keeper's left side.

"Obviously he shoots a lot of penalties in a season so it's hard to guess right,' Courtois told BT Sport.

"But he missed a few ones on this side (the right) so I think it was obvious he was going to the left."

Lionel Messi failed to beat Thibaut Courtois with a penalty kick in the second half in Paris :: IMAGO/Pierre Stevenin

Courtois made eight saves in total during Tuesday's Champions League last 16 first leg.

But he was finally beaten in the fourth minute of added time when Kylian Mbappe, who was PSG's star man on the night, struck to give the hosts a 1-0 lead to take into the second leg.

"Just a bit annoying," added Courtois when asked about Mbappe's late strike.

"We lost the ball in midfield, he gets away easily from two players, then obviously you have to close the angle.

"I went down as far as I could to block the far side because he likes to shoot on the left side but the ball went just in the right space under my body.

"It's a bit hard to take after such a game but it still means we have to win at home, even with a draw we had to win at home anyway."

The second leg will take place in Madrid on March 9.