Jude Bellingham has admitted that Liverpool ‘were more up for it’ than Real Madrid in the heavyweight Champions League clash on Wednesday night.
The Reds dominated proceedings at Anfield to maintain their perfect record in the competition with five wins from five games and reclaim top spot in the league phase of the tournament.
Alexis Mac Allister and Cody Gakpo were on target for Arne Slot’s men, who are enjoying a dream first season under the Dutchman, out in front in both the Premier League and Champions League standings
And, despite Kylian Mbappe seeing his penalty saved by Caoimhin Kelleher when the score was still 1-0, Madrid never really looked like taking anything from the game as their difficult form in Europe continued.
They slipped to 24th with the result – the final spot that sees sides through to the next round – and face a realistic prospect of dropping our of the competition early.
But they only have themselves to blame, claimed Bellingham, who insisted it was the manner of the defeat that left him disappointed.
‘From the first minute they took control of the game,’ he told TNT Sports post-match. ‘We never really maximised the spell we had in possession.
‘When we got the ball back we probably tried to force the counter-attack a few too many times and turned it over so much they had control. Defensively they kept us in a place where we couldn’t really harm them much.’
‘They were just more up for it than us which is really disappointing to say. It’s a bad result against the best-performing team in Europe. It’s no disgrace to come here and lose but we are disappointed in how we performed.
‘The important thing is we use it the right way now. We’ve got three games left in the group and it’s important we try to win all of them to give ourselves the best possible chance in the standings.’
Bellingham, who scored 23 goals last season, has struggled to replicate the same form this term, having netted just two goals in 15 games.
It was thought that the arrival of Mbappe would help him increase his numbers further, but the two are yet to click and the Frenchman struggled throughout the night at Anfield.
Bellingham was backing his team-mate, though, despite admitting the penalty miss had a big say in the outcome of the match.
‘It’s a big moment in the game but it can happen,’ Bellingham said. ‘He’s a wonderful player but the pressure he holds is humongous because of how good he is.
‘The penalty is not the reason why we lost the game. As a collective we weren’t good enough on the night. Kylian can keep his head high and I know for sure that he will produce many more moments that are huge for this club.’
