Real Madrid's English midfielder Jude Bellingham (R) vies with Liverpool's Colombian midfielder Luis Diaz during the UEFA Champions League football match between Liverpool and Real Madrid at Anfield in Liverpool, north west England Real Madrid star Jude Bellingham came to the defence of his teammate Kylian Mbappe who misses a penalty in their Champions League clash against Liverpool on Wednesday evening. Picture: Oli Scarff/AFP
Image: Oli Scarff/AFP
Real Madrid star Jude Bellingham has insisted that his teammate Kylian Mbappe’s missed penalty was not the reason they lost to Liverpool in their Champions League clash at Anfield on Wednesday evening.
On a night where even the mighty Mohamed Salah missed from the spot, it was still a dominant performance from Liverpool as they ran out 2-0 winners - and that was acknowledged by Bellingham.
Liverpool reeled off 17 shots in total to just the eight of Madrid, and the hosts also enjoyed 63% possession.
Liverpool also produced 617 passes compared to the 365 of Madrid.
"From the first minute they just took control of the game," Bellingham told TNT Sports..
"I just think they were more up for it than us, to be honest, which is really disappointing to say.
"It's a bad result against probably 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 that we go and try and win all of them to give ourselves the best possible chance in the standings.”
Alexis Mac Allister opened the scoring for Liverpool in the 52nd minute, before Mbappe failed to level the scores just after the hour mark.
Salah missed his attempt from the spot a few minutes later, as he didn’t even manage to hit the target. However, Cody Gakpo finally grabbed Liverpool’s second in the 76th minute.
On Mbappe who had his penalty saved by Liverpool keeper Caoimhín Kelleher, Bellingham said that shouldn’t be seen as the turning point.
"He's a wonderful player but the pressure that he holds, because of how good he is, is huge," said Bellingham.
"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 for sure that he will produce many more moments that are huge for this club.”
Meanwhile, Liverpool coach Arne Slot had a rather tongue-in-cheek assessment of the game.
"You know how special it is to play against a club that won this Champions League so many times, are the reigning champions and were a pain in the ass for Liverpool many times as well,” said Slot.