Alvaro Arbeloa has been out firefighting again, this time with Jude Bellingham.
The Real Madrid coach is a lame duck at the Bernabeu amid a trophyless season and is battling for La Liga points to keep any goodwill going.
On Tuesday night Madrid beat Alaves 2-1, but not everyone was happy.
Most attention focused on Vinicius Jr and Eduardo Camavinga who received abuse from the home crowd, but it was Bellingham that needed addressing.
The England midfielder was played out of position in a double-pivot with Aurelien Tchouameni and went to the touchline multiple times to speak to Arbeloa.
Eventually, Bellingham was taken off before the hour and kept his head down as he slumped off, barely acknowledging his coach who tried to speak to him.
Bellingham vs Arbeloa
As such, Arbeloa was forced to answer a question on the incident post-match.
“Jude is coming off a lot,” he said.
“The other day in Munich was the first time he played 90 minutes after a long injury layoff.
“We have another game on Friday. After what happened with Militão, I didn’t want to take any risks because I need him at his best for Friday.”
He added: “Bellingham always has that mentality, that ambition, and that desire, and even with a game like this, he wanted to keep helping and getting more playing time.
“I like that, but we shouldn’t make a big deal out of it, and we’ll see him again on the pitch on Friday.”
Leave a Reply