Thibaut Courtois labelled the 'Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo' of goalkeepers after Champions League heroics for Real Madrid against Stuttgart

Courtois was a big reason for Madrid's 3-1 win over Stuttgart on opening night of the new Champions League season. The Belgian stopper made six saves, three from inside the box, before Los Blancos went on to win the game in the final 10 minutes. He has since been hailed by former Madrid keeper Santiago Canizares, who labelled him on the same level as Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi when it comes to goalkeepers.

Speaking on Moviestar+, Canizares said: "Courtois is the best of all. There was a time when we said: 'There's Messi and there are the others, or there's [Diego] Maradona'... well, this is similar. Courtois is the Maradona, the Messi, the Cristiano of the goal. He's much better than the rest and he's there every day. We have become accustomed to important saves from balls that go into the corner, balls that go down to the ground quickly, which with another goalkeeper we would highlight, we have become accustomed to seeing this as normal.

"That is the greatness of, for me, the best goalkeeper I have ever seen play football. A Thibaut Courtois who is once again the MVP of the match and where for Real Madrid really made the difference, especially in goal. Without a doubt (Courtois is the best in history)."

Courtois famously returned from an ACL injury to help Madrid lift the Champions League last season and the 32-year-old remains an important player for Carlo Ancelotti. The former Chelsea man is showing no signs of letting up as the Spanish giants continue to flex their muscles in Europe.

After securing three points in the Champions League, Madrid and Courtois will turn their attention to Espanyol who they must beat on Saturday night to keep within touching distance of league leaders Barcelona.