Although he took the defeat on Mallorca “entirely” on his own, Alvaro Arbeloa criticized one of his protégés. After the 2-1 defeat at RCD, the focus should now quickly turn to Bayern.
While FC Bayern Munich just about salvaged their dress rehearsal ahead of the Champions League quarter-finals on Saturday afternoon, turning a 2-0 defeat at SC Freiburg into a 3-2 victory at the last moment, the record champions’ upcoming opponents will be left with their heads hanging in the run-up to the prestigious clash on Tuesday evening.
“Real Madrid capitulate”, was the headline in AS after the Whites’ embarrassing 2-1 defeat at RCD Mallorca, who had been in a relegation spot before the clash – and can now dream of more than just staying up. At the same time, Mallorca’s victory probably ensured that Real will have to bury their championship hopes for good, as they are now seven points behind leaders FC Barcelona.
Probably with an eye on the clash against FC Bayern, coach Alvaro Arbeloa rotated his starting line-up against RCD and left out Vinicius Junior and high-flyer Thiago Pitarch, for example. “I’m the one who makes the decisions, who decides the line-up, who makes the changes, who decides how we have to play,” explained the ex-professional after the game and took the loss on his own head: “And this defeat is entirely down to the Real Madrid coach.”
Camavinga “allows himself to be distracted”
However, Arbeloa seems to interpret the definition of “all on his own” a little more loosely. Afterwards, the coach targeted a player, Eduardo Camavinga, without mentioning him by name. “They scored through inconsistency,” said Arbeloa, annoyed by Mallorca’s goal in the 41st minute, in which the Frenchman only half-heartedly chased down Manu Morlanes. “Here you get distracted for a moment, don’t pay attention properly, lose your guard, don’t follow up and that costs you a goal.”
However, Arbeloa now wants to quickly forget the setback in Mallorca and look ahead to Bayern. He expects his players “to give their best in the Champions League, in a competition that is of the utmost importance.” He knows “what my players are capable of and that they are aware of the importance of the game on Tuesday.” Therefore, after the Mallorca defeat, the premise was: “When they leave the changing room, they must only think about Bayern.”
