Jude Bellingham admitted that Real Madrid were not up for their 2-0 defeat at Anfield, as Liverpool returned to the top of the UEFA Champions League standings. Kylian Mbappe missed a second-half penalty with a chance to level the match, but Bellingham refused to blame the Frenchman for the 15-time winners’ poor performance. Alexis Mac Allister and Cody Gakpo struck to win the game.
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Jude Bellingham of Real Madrid reacts at full time during the UEFA Champions League 2024/25 League Phase MD5 match between Liverpool FC and Real Madrid C.F. at Anfield on November 27, 2024 in Liverpool, England.
Image credit: Getty Images
Jude Bellingham refused to pin the blame on Kylian Mbappe for Real Madrid’s 2-0 loss to Liverpool after the Frenchman missed a crucial second-half penalty.
Alexis Mac Allister and Cody Gakpo scored the decisive goals at Anfield, with Mohamed Salah also missing a spot-kick in a frenetic second period.
With the scoreline reading 1-0, Mbappe’s penalty was brilliantly saved by Caoimhin Kelleher.
And Bellingham called the pressure on Mbappe “humongous”, backing the 25-year-old to bounce back for the rest of the campaign.
“It’s obviously a big moment in the game, but it can happen,” said Bellingham. “He’s a wonderful player, but the pressure that he holds because of how good he is, is huge, it’s humongous.
“The penalty is not the reason why we lost the game. As a collective we weren’t good enough on the night. They performed better than us and it’s as simple as that.
“Kylian can keep his head high. I know that for sure he will produce many more moments that are huge for this club.”
Real Madrid now sit in 24th position, on the cusp of the elimination zone, having lost three of their last four UEFA Champions League matches.
But despite their worrying form on the continent, Bellingham called their loss to Arne Slot’s squad “no disgrace”, adding that the hosts were “more up for it”.
“I just think they were more up for it than us, to be honest, which is disappointing to say. But it’s a bad result against probably the best performing team in Europe,” said Bellingham.
“It’s no disgrace to come here and lose, but we are disappointed in how we performed and the important thing is we use it the right way.”
Bellingham believed Slot’s team had firm control over proceedings and the visitors were too profligate when they eventually regained possession.
He said: “From the first minute, they probably just took control of the game. We never really maximised the spells we had in possession.
“When we got the ball back, I think we probably tried to force the counter-attack a few too many times and turned it over so much that they managed to keep control defensively.
“They kept us in a place where we couldn’t really harm them as much.
“Now we’ve got three games left in the group and it’s important that we go and try and win all of them to give ourselves the best possible chance in the standings.”
Real Madrid face high-flying Atalanta in their next Champions League fixture, before finishing off their league phase with matches against RB Salzburg and Brest.
