At a glance
- Real Madrid trail Bayern Munich 2-1 in the Champions League quarterfinals.
- For the second leg to be played at the Allianz Arena on Wednesday, Alvaro Arbeloa needs to make a decision.
- It centres around his midfield, and how that lines up given a suspension for Aurelien Tchouameni.
Real Madrid head coach Alvaro Arbeloa has a key decision to make ahead of Wednesday’s Champions League quarterfinal second leg clash against Bayern Munich.
The 15-time winners trail the Bavarians by a 2-1 margin after a defeat in the tie’s maiden instalment, and will travel to Germany with one less.
In a feisty first half at the Bernabeu, Aurelien Tchouameni picked up a yellow card and now has to sit the decider out after picking up one too many bookings.
“For me it’s not yellow. I didn’t do anything, I’m running… And with all the fouls that came before, it’s unfair,” Tchouameni protested post-match.
What now for Real Madrid’s midfield?
What Arbeloa does now could determine whether Los Blancos stay in the competition and he keeps his job.
The manager could go for a Fede Valverde-Thiago Pitarch duo. But while one of the positive points of Arbeloa’s troubled reign has been boosting the latter Castilla prospect to the first team, he evidently struggled in the first leg.
He did enjoy 90% passing accuracy against Manchester City in the last 16, though, and can allow a goalscoring Valverde to be the engine of the right flank and support Trent Alexander-Arnold.
On the other hand, though, it is a lot to ask an 18-year-old to boss a Champions League clash of this magninute in a couldron such as the Allianz; especially against the physically imposing likes of Joshua Kimmich and Aleksandar Pavlovlic.
Should Bellingham start for Real Madrid?
Jude Bellingham could get the nod instead. And while failing to make an impact in the 1-1 draw against Girona amid a tense viral exchange with Florentino Perez, the Englishman enjoyed an impressive cameo last time out against Bayern.
“It’s not a right to earn the starting spot. And it’s not that I want to leave him out,” Arbeloa remarked after the Bernabeu defeat, which Bellingham started on the bench. “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.”
Though he hasn’t managed to recreate the same magic as his 2023/2024 campaign in Madrid, Bellingham still boasts that clutch factor few players have.
His runs into the box can provide that goal Madrid chase whether it’s him that scores it or it’s an assist. Furthermore, he’ll also force defenders such as Dayot Upamecano to track a third runner other than Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Jr. – which is when lapses in concentration can occur.
At the same time, however, there are still doubts as to whether Bellingham has the legs to go for a full 90 minutes, which could easily become 120 if Madrid equalise and keep things tight.
