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Ammon News - Thibaut Courtois played through injury as Real Madrid were knocked out of the Champions League by Manchester City on Wednesday night.

The defending European champions were thrashed 4-0 by Pep Guardiola’s side on a humbling evening at the Etihad Stadium.

The Belgian goalkeeper made a string of high-quality saves but couldn’t stop the Premier League leaders advancing to the final, 5-1 on aggregate.

It is understood Courtois tore a muscle in his arm during the La Liga win over Getafe on Saturday.

He underwent treatment in the following days and played through the pain in Wednesday’s second leg.

Courtois was hugely disappointed with the manner of the performance and to fall just one step away from another final.

He said: “We’ll have to watch it back because it’s not easy to see the game from the goal-line. We took a while to make any fouls, the second balls all fell to them and we missed a lot of easy passes.

“Anyway, it’s not easy to hurt them if we spend the whole time chasing the ball. We had to win the ball back more quickly and stream forward because they always had seven or eight guys in our half but we just didn’t manage to do it.

“The way we lost is the worst thing. You can lose a game in extra time or on penalties, 2-1 or 1-0. That can hurt if you’ve given your all on the pitch. But it’s a very heavy defeat.

“We have to be proud of the way we’ve come this far. It’s tough to fall short just before the final, but we lost to a great team. In the English League they are unstoppable. This wasn’t our best game and if we’re not at our best this happens.”

Real Madrid return to action in La Liga away against Valencia on Sunday.

The Athletic