Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane hailed Thibaut Courtois for his clean sheet in their 2-0 defeat of Alaves.

The Belgian, having initially struggled after arriving from Chelsea, has established himself as an unquestionable member of the starting XI.

"He's a very important player and a great influence," Zidane said when quizzed about his goalkeeper after the win over Alaves.

"It's a team effort, but Thibaut is stopping a lot of goals and we're doing very well."

Real Madrid's last three wins have been aided by penalties being awarded, but the Frenchman doesn't read too much into it.

"If there's a penalty then there's a penalty," he said.

"It was a good move. That's it.

"The important thing is that we score goals."