Thibaut Courtois believes Liverpool's first-leg defeat to Real Madrid left Jurgen Klopp's side fearful of a repeat scoreline during the second Champions League meeting between the sides on Wednesday evening.
After taking an early two-goal lead at Anfield versus Los Blancos, the Spanish giants responded in emphatic fashion to take a comprehensive 5-2 advantage back to the Bernabeu for the last leg of the last-16 tie.
There were hopes the Reds could conjure up another famous European night as they looked to make up the three-goal deficit, though they had long been extinguished by the time Karim Benzema prodded home inside the box to seal a 6-3 aggregate victory.
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Many expected Liverpool to come flying out the blocks in a bid to turn the tie on its head, though few clear-cut chances were created by the visitors. Offering his assessment as to why the Reds were unable to impose themselves in the way in which they would have hoped, Courtois is of the view Jurgen Klopp's side were 'aware' how easily they could be punished on the break - as was the case at Anfield three weeks previous.
"It was a good performance from us. They tried to create chances, Alisson made a series of brilliant saves and until our goal came, we knew they were still in the game. Once we got that goal, the game cooled off a bit and we knew we were going to qualify," the Belgian shot-stopper told Real Madrid.
“They were also aware following the first leg that we could punish them in behind if they went too crazy but they were looking for that goal early on just like Chelsea did last year, and that's when the game could have changed," continued the former Chelsea man. "We showed real authority and maturity in how we went about the game. That was the key, not overthinking too much."
Also adamant the hosts were good value for their win on the night was Real midfielder Federico Valverde, who added: "We did a lot more to get the win in the second half. When you have such a big lead, we needed a bit more conviction in the first half to get that goal. In the second half we switched that mindset, we did a lot more to get the win and that's how the game ended."
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