At a glance
- Real Madrid lost 2-1 to Bayern Munich in a Champions League quarterfinal first leg tie at the Bernabeu.
- But Antonio Rudiger and Alvaro Arbeloa believe in the comeback, with the latter advising those that don’t “to stay in Madrid”.
- Los Blancos head to Munich for the second leg on Wednesday next week.
Alvaro Arbeloa advised anyone that doesn’t believe Real Madrid can come back against Bayern Munich in the Champions League quarterfinals to stay behind in the Spanish capital next week.
Madrid lost 2-1 to the Germans at the Bernabeu in the tie’s first leg, but Arbeloa has faith in the remontada just like his defender Antonio Rudiger.
Asked if Manuel Neuer receiving the MVP award for pulling off nine saves was “the best news” heading into the decider, Arbeloa couldn’t agree.
“I don’t know if it’s the best news, but it’s a sign that we can hurt them,” the coach said at a post-match press conference.
“We’re going to learn a lot from this tie. They were more cohesive as a team, and have been together longer. Whoever does not believe should stay in Madrid. I have players with a lot of personality, the first thing they said in the dressing room is that we are going to win there,” Arbeloa revealed.
Jude Bellingham looked like the Jude Bellingham of old for Real Madrid
Starting on the bench as he did for Saturday’s 2-1 loss to Mallorca, the Englishman earned the right to feature in the first XI for Munich in the eyes of many.
“It’s not a right to earn the starting spot. And it’s not that I want to leave him out,” Arbeloa insisted. “It’s because he’d been out for a long time due to the injury. Hopefully we can play with Jude for 90 minutes every game. He gave us a lot, because he put the pressure on Bayern. I think he’s much better for the game [he played], and will help us a lot in Munich.”
It’ll be interesting to see how Arbeloa shifts his team. For the second leg, we already know that Aurelien Tchoaumeni will be suspended while Thiago Pitarch struggled.
That’s possibly two midfield berths available, and Arbeloa has already hinted that Bellingham could fill one of them.
Fearless moving forward, the number 5 was particularly effective in linking up with Vinicius Jr. and setting the Brazilian off on dangerous runs giving Madrid hope.
