Courtois questions Real Madrid's 'individual' attack after lopsided loss to Arsenal

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Thibaut Courtois watched from the other end of the pitch as Real Madrid’s forwards took turns crashing against the Arsenal defense.

Courtois had done his part by stopping a penalty. But Kylian Mbappé's best shot sailed high and wide. Rodrygo’s dribbles got him nowhere, and Vinícius needed a defensive blunder to take Madrid’s sole goal of a 5-1 aggregate defeat in the Champions League quarterfinals.

“Sometimes you have to be self-critical and have a good look at everything,” the Belgian goalkeeper said after the 2-1 home loss to Arsenal midweek.

“Maybe we need to make more team moves and not so many individual ones, because if they double-mark Vini or Mbappé they can break it once, but not three, four or five times," Courtois said. “We can’t always rely on one of our four attacking players dribbling past three defenders and scoring a great goal, we have to attack and defend better as a team."

Exiting from the competition it has won five times in the last decade was not what Madrid expected when it added Mbappé to a squad that was coming off a record 15th European Cup and Spanish league title last season.

The France captain has scored a glut of goals in his first season with Madrid but failed to come up big in the biggest games, including two lopsided losses to Barcelona. Jeers were heard for Mbappé when he limped off the field on Wednesday with a hurt right ankle.

The hard truth is that the team has played worse with him on board. Madrid has had injuries in defense and it lost midfielder Toni Kroos to retirement but its attack has failed to click, with Mbappé having to adapt to a central striker role as Vinícius' production dropped.

Courtois even called into question the range of attacking options for a squad that also counted on Endrick and Brahim Díaz as sparks off the bench. The goalie said Madrid was missing the tall, big striker who could win balls in the box like Joselu Mato, who scored critical goals in last season’s Champions League.

“It was difficult to find openings and we had little success. We were also unlucky with balls into the box. This year we don’t have a Joselu who can win those duels,” Courtois said. “Now we have to analyze what we can do better because we still have the (Spanish) league, the final of the Copa del Rey and the Club World Cup, and we want to get everything right.”

There will be little let up for Madrid with a strong Athletic Bilbao arriving on Sunday aiming to dig into the wound left by Arsenal.

Madrid must try to overhaul a four-point deficit to Barcelona in La Liga as it tries to salvage the season by defending its domestic title.

Madrid could be facing a seven-point gap with Barcelona by kickoff, if the front-runner beats Celta Vigo at home on Saturday.

Madrid will also face Barcelona in the Copa del Rey final next week, but coach Carlo Ancelotti will likely also need his team to retain the league crown to keep his job. The Italian manager admitted his future was in doubt after his team was outplayed by Arsenal, while also attempting to dampen speculation.

“I’m only thinking about preparing for the next game to stay in the fight for the league title and try to win the Copa del Rey,” he said.

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Arsenal's Gabriel Martinelli celebrates with teammates after scoring his side's second goal during the Champions League quarterfinals second leg soccer match between Real Madrid and Arsenal at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid, Wednesday, April 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)

Real Madrid's Jude Bellingham, center, reacts after a missed chance to score during the Champions League quarterfinals second leg soccer match between Real Madrid and Arsenal at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid, Wednesday, April 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

President Donald Trump made a lot of tariff threats and trade promises this year. Many materialized into a barrage of new import taxes that overturned decades of U.S. economic policy — but others have yet to be fulfilled as 2025 comes to a close.

Some of Trump’s unrealized threats reflect a broader approach from a president with a track record of using sky-high levies to pressure other countries into new trade deals, one-up retaliatory measures or even punish political critics. At the same time, they arrived as growing list of tariffs did go into effect — from Trump's punishing new taxes on imported metals, to tit-for-tat levies with top U.S. trading partners like China — plunging consumers and businesses worldwide into uncertainty.

Here’s what Trump said when announcing some of his biggest (but still unrealized) tariff threats and promises this year, and where things stand today.

In his words:

What happened: The External Revenue Service has yet to be established as of the end of December. While administration officials continued to reiterate plans for launching the External Revenue Service during Trump's first months back in office, the entity does not yet exist.

In his words:

What happened: The EU's planned levy on American whiskey — which it unveiled as part of broader retaliation in response to Trump's new steel and aluminum tariffs — was postponed, with the latest delay reportedly running until at least February.

Trump's 200% tariff threat on European alcohol never materialized. But spirits were not included in the EU-U.S. trade deal struck over the summer, which set a 15% rate on most European imports.

In his words:

What happened: Despite Trump's repeated threats, the U.S. has yet to impose a 100% tariff on foreign films. After his initial May promise to initiate the process, the White House said no final decision had been made. Also still unclear is how the U.S. would tax a movie made overseas.

In his words:

What happened: The president did not sign an executive order imposing a 100% tariff on pharma products on Oct. 1 and, as of today, no levy has been put into place. But Trump previously suggested that steep levies on pharmaceutical drugs could arrive further down the road, telling CNBC in August that he would start by charging a “small tariff” and potentially raise the rate as high as 250%. Meanwhile, trade agreements with specific countries set their own rates or exemptions — with the U.K., for example, securing a 0% tariff on all British medicine exported to the U.S. for three years. The administration also announced deals with specific companies with promises of lower drug prices.

In his words:

What happened: A sweeping 100% on computer chips has yet to go into effect. When announcing his plans to impose the levy back in August, Trump was not specific about the timing. And other details have remained scarce.

In his words:

What happened: Details about how, when and if a tariff dividend will reach Americans are still scarce. Budget experts have said that the math doesn't add up. And Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent suggested that it might not mean checks from the government. Instead, Bessent told ABC in November, the rebate might take the form of tax cuts. White House National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett also told CBS News that it's up to Congress.

FILE - President Donald Trump speaks during an event to announce new tariffs in the Rose Garden at the White House, on April 2, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)