Thibaut Courtois Pleased With How Real Madrid Kept Erling Haaland Quiet

Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois admitted that his team adapted their usual style of play on Tuesday in an attempt to keep Erling Haaland quiet.

Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois admitted that his team adapted their usual style of play on Tuesday in an attempt to keep Erling Haaland quiet.

Haaland had scored a remarkable 51 goals in his first 45 appearances for Manchester City this season.

But the Norwegian striker was unable to add to his tally in Tuesday's Champions League semi-final first leg.

The game ended 1-1 after Vinicius Junior and Kevin De Bruyne both scored from long range.

Haaland had fewer touches of the ball, 21, than any other starting player in the game.

Real sat deep in a bid to deny Haaland chances to sprint in behind their defense, while center-back Antonio Rudiger marked him tightly.

Haaland was still able to record three shots, including two that forced saves from Courtois, who spoke to BT Sport after the match.

Erling Haaland (right) and Thibaut Courtois pictured in action during Real Madrid's 1-1 draw against Manchester City :: IMAGO/ZUMA Wire/Ruben Albarran

Courtois said: "If you want to defend against Haaland, you don't give him the space to run. We tried to avoid that. We played well. As a consequence they shot more from distance. It pushed us deeper.

"It was a good draw and there is everything to play for next week. It will be like a final. We're quite good at winning finals. Hopefully we can mentalize it like that.

"City are a team who play with possession. With Haaland they play more direct. Sometimes in the Premier League, Ederson kicks really deep. We dropped down to not give them space.

"Sometimes we didn't control our game. They pressed well and you don't want to take too many risks at the back."

Tuesday's game was the ninth meeting between City and Real in Champions League history.

There have now been three draws between the teams, as well as three wins for either side.

SEE MORE: Real Madrid's Record Against English Teams