Without Keylor Navas in goal, Paris Saint-Germain’s 2-2 draw against Real Madrid on Tuesday night could have been much worse.
Since arriving from Real Madrid last summer, Navas has been the answer in goal that PSG has been looking for. Alphonse Areola never quite convinced the hierarchy at the club and he was shipped to Madrid via a loan while Navas made the permanent move to the French capital.
On Tuesday, Navas faced his old team in the UEFA Champions League and was otherworldly.
Real Madrid peppered Navas over the span of 90 minutes with 27 total shots and 12 on target. While allowing two goals to Karim Benzema, neither was really his fault. The first was came after an initial shot ricocheted off the post and the second was from a point-blank header. I blame the defense more than the goalkeeper for those two.
The 10 saves that Navas did make against his former team was his best total in a game in all competitions since 2014-15, when he joined Real Madrid, per OptaJose.
The goalkeeper on the other end of the pitch, Thibaut Courtois, should have been sent off for bringing down Mauro Icardi in the box and let in a soft goal to Kylian Mbappé, which allowed PSG to gain momentum and eventually score the equalizer.
Do you think Real Madrid wishes they still had Navas? I think so too.
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