Thibaut Courtois has another standout performance in Champions League Final

The win marks goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois' second Champions League title with the Spanish club. He's kept a clean sheet in both finals appearances.

In the 2022 final against Liverpool, Courtois was Player of the Match in a narrow 1-0 victory. He put on a historic shot-stopping performance.

This season, Courtois was riddled with injuries. He tore his ACL last August, and his recovery was set back by a meniscus tear in March. 

Real Madrid's backup goalkeeper, Andriy Lunin, stepped in seamlessly during Courtois' absence. In the Champions League quarterfinals against Manchester City, the Ukrainian saved two penalties in the penalty shoot-out. He kept Bayern Munich to one goal in the second leg of the semi-finals to help Real Madrid advance on aggregate 4-3. 

Once Courtois was fit, manager Carlo Ancelotti had a tough call to make. Does he go with Lunin, whose performances are part reason Real Madrid found themselves in the final, or with Courtois, whose past performances won the Champions League?

Ancelotti previously stated that he believed the Belgian gave Real Madrid a better chance to win the game. The decision appeared to be made for him when Lunin came down with an illness earlier this week, keeping him out of preparation for the match.

Lunin heavily contributed to the team's Champions League run. It's also true that Courtois produced yet another match-winning performance in the most important game of the campaign. 

Real Madrid sustained continuous pressure from Borussia Dortmund in the first half. His best action of the half was a point-blank save from Karim Adeyemi in the 28th minute.

In the second half, he made a reaction stop from Niclas Fullkrug in the 63rd minute and punched out a corner in the dying seconds of stoppage time to secure the clean sheet. 

His reliable performance demonstrated that while injuries are temporary, class is permanent. Perhaps his classiest act of the evening, however, was the love he showed to a fellow member of the goalkeeper's union.