Former Arsenal midfielder Santi Cazorla fired a brace past the Belgian in the 2-2 draw. The result now means Real Madrid are seven points adrift of league leaders Barcelona.
Santiago Solari was brought in to steady the ship after the sacking of Julen Lopetegui in October.
The £35million signing from Chelsea hinted that Los Blancos have suffered a significant blow in the title race after they threw away the lead late in the second half.“We couldn’t afford to drop points, we had to win,” the goalkeeper – aware of Real’s position compared to Barcelona – said.
“We’re disappointed, we didn’t have to draw.
“We
had chances to kill the game off, but we didn’t take them. We were then sloppy at the back as Santi [Cazorla] was alone at the back post…
“We had lots of possession and got into their box. We didn’t that often but still more than they did.
“They didn’t pose us that much of a threat and we had the game under control. We couldn’t afford to drop points here.”
It was not the best return to La Liga action for the Champions League holders.
The side were fresh off the back of winning the Club World Cup in the United Arab Emirates.
But Courtois insisted the side were not fatigued from the mid-season competition.
“I don’t think the Club World Cup affected us,” he added.
“We’ve been training very well and everyone was ready for the game. We started badly, I made a save in the third minute and they scored.
“We recovered quickly and scored two goals of our own, but we missed two one-on-ones. The game was in those misses.
“We had to win here, but hey. Now we have to be ready for Sunday, against Real Sociedad at home.”
Next up for Real is a home clash with Sociedad on Sunday, while Barca play at Levante.