Thibaut Courtois slammed Real Madrid\u2019s \u201csleepy start\u201d in their 3-2 Champions League loss to RB Leipzig, saying the team \u201clacked intensity\u201d in conceding two early goals that led to their first defeat of the season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Defender Josko Gvardiol put Leipzig ahead in the 13th minute and forward Christopher Nkunku doubled the home side\u2019s lead five minutes later, before Vinicius Junior pulled a goal back before half-time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As Madrid chased an equaliser, substitute Timo Werner added a third for Leipzig on the counter-attack in the 81st minute and Rodrygo replied with a 94th minute penalty after he was fouled in the box.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt happens to us sometimes. We started a bit sleepy, with no aggression, no intensity,\u201d Courtois said. \u201cAgainst a team like Leipzig, you pay for that. The boss [Carlo Ancelotti] had said to us that at home they\u2019ve scored a lot of goals in the last five games. Even so, we started badly. You can\u2019t do that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou can\u2019t concede twice from two corners. Once they\u2019ve scored the first, they can\u2019t score another. We defended badly. We made it 2-1 before half-time, but in the second half it was the same. We misplaced a lot of passes. It wasn\u2019t a good game.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The result leaves Madrid top of Group F on 10 points, with Leipzig second on nine points, and Madrid needing a win in their final game against Celtic on November 2 to guarantee going through to the round of 16 as group winners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAs a goalkeeper you can see it. We weren\u2019t in the game,\u201d Courtois said. \u201cWe didn\u2019t win the duels, and that happened with the two goals. We defended badly, we lacked intensity. We had to wake up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou can have a bad day, we play a lot of games in a short time, but you can\u2019t lack intensity. We\u2019re tired, but there are players on the bench too. We have to give 100% in every second.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Manager Carlo Ancelotti was reluctant to agree with Courtois when the keeper\u2019s criticism of the team was put to him in his post match news conference, saying, \u201cEveryone has their own opinion.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019m not angry,\u201d Ancelotti said. \u201cA loss annoys us, but it\u2019s a defeat that doesn\u2019t hurt a lot. We have another chance to finish first against Celtic. It had to happen at some point and it happened today. You learn more from a defeat than from 10 wins in a row.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Madrid had won 14 and drawn two of their matches so far this season before Tuesday\u2019s defeat in Germany. They are three points clear at the top of the LaLiga table, and host Girona on Sunday before next week\u2019s last group stage game with Celtic at the Santiago Bernabeu.<\/p>\n\n\n\n