1 week Ago By Robin Mumford
The Spanish press have made no secret of their admiration for Jude Bellingham - but on Tuesday night, it was another English midfielder who hijacked the headlines . Declan Rice scored two sensational free-kicks to put Arsenal firmly in the driver's seat at the Emirates Stadium, while Mikel Merino added the cherry on top to leave Real Madrid crestfallen at the sight of a 3-0 deficit in the Champions League quarter-final first leg . Surprisingly, it's a scoreline Los Blancos have never managed to overturn - though, in fairness, they've rarely found themselves in such dire straits.
Still, in European football's most prestigious institute, where demands couldn't be any stricter, the knives are already out, and some of football’s biggest names are now facing the music after a night to forget. Carlo Ancelotti's side's season has been patchy at best, and while Bellingham has often been their lifeline - playing conductor, soloist, and rescue crew all in one - even he isn’t immune to criticism now. The Spanish papers, famously unforgiving, are turning up the heat, and nobody’s off-limits, though the former Borussia Dortmund prodigy is avoiding the brunt of it.
Declan Rice's pièce de résistance has sent shockwaves through Spain. How The Spanish media Reacted To Jude Bellingham's Performance The Real Madrid faithful and press can sometimes be so trigger-happy that one sub-par performance can ruin a footballer's time in the Spanish capital - just ask Gareth Bale, for instance. However, the reaction to Bellingham has been empathetic more than anything, as journalists seemed to all understand that the Englishman's teammates were at fault for his lack of influence.
"A hard worker, a real fighter. Pure Bellingham. He never skimped on a run, a tackle, or an assist.
He moved much more into midfield to help out, but, as a result, he was less visible in the opposition's box," AS wrote about the 21-year-old . "It wasn't his most memorable night, but he was one of the best of the four players in front." Marca, perhaps somewhat harshly, gave the midfielder a 5/10 match rating in their article , but the caption that went alongside it was far more positive.
"At the first opportunity, he played a measured ball to Mbappe, who then set him up for a one-on-one with Raya," they began. "The problem is that he has received very few advantageous positions to launch his attackers into. Furthermore, Alaba's defensive problems are forcing him to work harder than necessary.
"A good through ball to Mbappe for Real Madrid's second big chance. He saved Arsenal's second off the line. The little Madrid did do came from his boots, but it was drowned out by the disaster that was the team.
" Mundo Deportivo labelled him the 'sacrifice' in Real Madrid's loss , while adding: "The Englishman worked more in defence than in attack and the forwards noticed this." Meanwhile, Es Sport noted : "Having to bail out Alaba prevented him from taking off, but he did so before Madrid collapsed.".
