Is Andriy Lunin the Future of Madrid?
In a game for the ages, the Kings of Europe, Real Madrid, stunned Manchester City 4-3 on penalties in their last Champions League game. After the game was tied 4-4 on aggregate through two games, and no goals could be scored in extra time, penalties were needed to decide this heavyweight bout. Led by the efforts of goalkeeper Andriy Lunin, Madrid was able to outlast the title favorites and destroyed City’s hopes of repeating as champions. Lunin, who played 120 minutes of fabulous football, saved two penalties in the dramatic showdown to give Madrid the win.
While Madrid fans across the world will be praising Lunin for his heroics today, it hasn’t always been this way for the Ukrainian international. Lunin joined Madrid in 2018 as a third-choice goalkeeper and sat behind legends of the club Thibaut Courtois and Keylor Navas. He accepted loans to Leganés, Valladolid, and Oviedo to get playing time and prove himself before coming into this season. Again, he was overlooked and submitted as a third-choice keeper. However, after injuries to the aforementioned Courtois and second choice Kepa Arrizabalaga, Lunin was thrust into action. While many thought their Champions League campaign was lost due to their injuries in the back, Lunin stepped up to the plate when they needed him most and has delivered in a big way.
However, with Lunin’s stellar play, this leaves Madrid in a very interesting situation. They have Thibaut Courtois, a legend of the club who when healthy is one of the very best goalkeepers in the world. He helped lead Madrid to a Champions L just two years ago in 2022 and was a star player, even keeping a clean sheet in the final. However, some may argue the best of his career might be behind him. Courtois is 31 compared to Lunin’s age of just 25. Lunin is also, for now, significantly less expensive, costing just a fifth of what Courtois is currently costing them. Furthermore, in 20 games in La Liga this season, Lunin has only allowed 13 goals and kept 10 clean sheets, with an average match rating of 7.23. In contrast last season Courtois had 31 league games allowing 29 goals and had the same number of clean sheets, but in 11 more games, with an average match rating of 7.13.
Although a smaller sample size, Lunin has been playing amazingly, and with Courtois on the latter end of his career coming off a massive injury, Madrid might consider keeping Lunin as their first keeper choice in the future. Madrid will need to make a decision quickly though, as Lunin’s contract expires next summer. In the meantime, Lunin will be focused on keeping his good run of form against Bayern Munich in the Champions League semifinal game tomorrow. Going up against English legend Harry Kane and company won’t be easy, as they will be hungry to get a trophy and knock off Madrid.
