Real Madrid fell to a disappointing defeat against Mallorca on Saturday, with the home side emerging as 2-1 winners at Son Moix. It is a result that has seen them lose ground in the La Liga title race, with Barcelona now seven points clear after they took advantage to win at Atletico Madrid.
As per Diario AS, head coach Alvaro Arbeloa spoke on the possibility of winning La Liga after the defeat. He recognised the task ahead of him, but all he wants is for his side to do their part in the remaining matches.
“It’s more difficult (to win La Liga) than before the game started. We have eight games left and, as I told the players, no matter how the league is, our next objective is to win the remaining eight. And to do that we have to play better than today and perform at a much higher level. It’s all more difficult, but our objective has to be the same.”
Arbeloa: This defeat is mine, all and absolutely mine
Arbeloa took responsibility for the defeat, as he urged his players to start thinking about Tuesday’s showdown clash against Bayern Munich.
“This defeat is mine, all and absolutely mine. What I need from them is that they are already thinking about Tuesday’s game. When they leave the dressing room this game is already over for them. I’m the one who makes the decisions, the one who makes the line-up, the one who makes the changes, the one who chooses how we have to play and this defeat is absolutely mine. I need my players to believe in winning Tuesday’s game, in that important match we have in the Champions League, a competition that is very important for us. So when they leave the dressing room, they only have to think about Bayern.”
Arbeloa calls for calm with Bellingham
Arbeloa also made it clear that he expects Jude Bellingham to continue gaining prominence and match sharpness over the coming weeks, after an less-than-convincing cameo off the bench at Son Moix.
“Well, it’s normal (that Bellingham lacks rhythm), it’s just that he’s been away for many weeks. During the match against Atlético he played 20 minutes. Today it was a little more than half an hour and the idea is that I can continue to get into the rhythm of competition. He cannot be at his maximum level without hardly playing games. We have to be patient with him, of course.”
