Alvaro Arbeloa spoke to the media after Real Madrid’s 2-1 loss to Mallorca on Saturday. He was asked about what bothered him the most after the game, to which he said: “For me, it’s much easier to see the difficulty of the match, of the opponent. It’s easy for me to see it, but the tricky part is getting the players to understand that today, without giving 200%, we weren’t going to win. Even though we were the better team in the first half, a lapse in concentration led to a goal. Here, you lose focus
for a moment, you don’t adjust properly, you lose your mark, you don’t track back, and it costs you a goal. When you’re not clinical in front of goal and the opponent is, you end up paying the price, because this is the elite level, it’s La Liga. Not playing a much better second half is what hurts me the most.”
Arbeloa on the chances of winning the league
“It’s tougher than before the match started. We have eight games left, and as I told the players, regardless of how the league is doing, our next objective is to win all eight remaining matches. And to do that, we have to play better than we did today and perform at a much higher level. Everything is more difficult, but our objective has to remain the same.”
Arbeloa on the labored attack in the second half
“It was probably the context, the anxiety of being behind on the scoreboard, the patience we needed… They closed down the spaces more and had more energy once they had the lead. We lacked both that patience and what we’d worked on during the week: being able to turn them around and create more one-on-one situations on the wings. We were missing many things in the second half. We needed a second half with more energy and clearer thinking.”
Arbeloa on whether this defeat is on the players
“No, no. This defeat is mine, entirely and absolutely mine. What I need from them is for them to already be thinking about Tuesday’s game. When they leave the locker room, this game is already over for them. I’m the one who makes the decisions, the one who picks the lineup, the one who makes the substitutions, the one who chooses how we have to play, and this defeat belongs entirely to the Real Madrid coach. I need my players to believe in winning Tuesday’s game, that crucial Champions League match we have, a competition that is extremely important to us. So when they leave the locker room, they only have to think about Bayern.”
Arbeloa on hoping for an Atletico win
“That’s not my concern. My focus is on my team and preparing for Tuesday’s game. I don’t waste much time on things I can’t control.”
Arbeloa on Jude Bellingham lacking rhythm
“Well, it’s normal, he’s been out for many weeks. He played 20 minutes against Atlético. Today it was a little over half an hour, and the idea is for him to continue getting back into match fitness. He can’t be at his best without hardly playing any games. We need to be patient with him, of course.”
Arbeloa on repercussions
“None. I know what my players are capable of. I know they understand the importance of Tuesday’s match. There are games when it’s just not your day, when things don’t go your way. On Tuesday, the pressure will be immense, and I know the support the Madrid fans will give us. With them, everything is easier.”
