Arbeloa: "We need to switch gears and prepare well for Tuesday's match"

Álvaro Arbeloa appeared in the press room at Son Moix and analyzed the Mallorca-Real Madrid Matchday 30 of La Liga: "It is clear that the League is more difficult now than it was before the match started. We have eight matchdays left, and basically, what I have told the players is that regardless of the League's status, our next objective is to win the remaining eight matches. To do this, we need to play better than we did today and perform at a much higher level. We are aware that everything is more difficult because there are fewer matchdays left, and the gap tonight could be bigger, but our goal must remain the same."

Why didn't the team create more chances in the opposition's area during the second half?
"Probably due to the context of the match. The anxiety of being behind on the scoreboard, the patience we needed to have, even knowing it would be more difficult and that we would face a Mallorca in a more favorable context for them, closing spaces much tighter and with more energy from being ahead. Perhaps we lacked patience and didn't execute what we worked on during the week, nor did we manage to turn them around and create more one-on-one situations on the flanks. We lacked a lot in the second half, and I think we played a much better first half than the second. I feel we needed a bit more in the second half, with more energy and clearer ideas."

What concerns you the most?
"For me, it's much easier to see the difficulty of the match, the difficulty of the opponent, the difficulty of the context, and where we are coming from. It's easy for me to see it, but what's challenging is for the players to understand that today, without giving 200%, we weren't going to win. Despite having a first half where we were superior, in one misalignment, they scored a goal. Here, you lose focus for a moment, don't adjust properly, lose a mark, don't follow it, and it costs you a goal. And when you're not accurate in front of goal and the opponent is, you end up paying for it because this is the elite, this is the First Division. Not having played a much better second half than we did is what hurts me the most."

Was this defeat more about the players than the coach?
"No. This defeat is mine, and I have told the players. It is entirely and absolutely mine, and what I need from them is to start thinking about Tuesday's match. When they leave the locker room, this match should be over for them. I am the one who makes the decisions, the one who creates the lineup, the one who makes the substitutions, and the one who decides how we should play, and this defeat is absolutely the responsibility of the Real Madrid coach. I need my players to believe in winning Tuesday's match, that crucial game we have in the Champions, and to give their best in a competition that is immensely important to us, with a crowd that will be supporting us, against a great opponent. So, when they leave the locker room, they should only think about Bayern Munich."

The match between Atlético de Madrid and Barcelona
"It's not something that concerns me. I care about my team and preparing for Tuesday's match, and I don't waste much time on things I can't control."

Bellingham
"It's normal for him to have little rhythm because he has been out for many weeks. Against Atlético de Madrid, I think he played 20 minutes. Today, he played a little over half an hour, and the idea is for him to continue regaining competitive rhythm. We shouldn't expect Jude Bellingham to be at his peak without having played many matches. This is his second game after that break he had, so we need to be patient with him."

Impact of this defeat
"I know what my players are capable of. I know they understand the importance of Tuesday's match, and sometimes you just don't have your day, things don't work out, and today was one of those days. So, we need to switch gears now, prepare well for that match, because we don't have much time, and the level of demand will be extremely high on Tuesday. I'm confident that madridismo will give us another great Champions night, as they have been doing and supporting us in recent matches. Without them, everything is harder, and with them, everything is much easier."

 

Disclaimer: Translation generated by artificial intelligence. It may contain inaccuracies.