Jude Bellingham admitted that Real Madrid lost to “the best team in Europe” as Liverpool downed the European champions.
The Reds have been in sensational form this term and comfortably sit top of the Premier League. In the Champions League they remain the only team to have a perfect record from five games, producing a statement performance to see off the Spanish giants.
Bellingham, Kylian Mbappe and co headed to Anfield but were second best for long periods as Liverpool secured a 2-0 win. Alexis Mac Allister scored the opener before Cody Gakpo made the game safe late on. That came after Mbappe had seen a penalty saved, while Mohamed Salah also missed from the spot.
Real have won lost three of their five Champions League outings but Bellingham confessed, on his return to England, that being turned over by Liverpool was “no disgrace” as he labelled the Reds as Europe’s premier outfit at present.
He told TNT Sports: “I think to be fair from the first minute they just took control, we never maximised the spells we had in possession. We tried to force the counter too many times, turned the ball over so much that they just kept control. I just think they were more up for it than us, which is really disappointing to say.
“It’s probably a bad result against the best performing team in Europe so its no disgrace to come here and lose, but we are disappointed in how we performed. We need to use it in the right way, we’ve got three games left and it’s important we win those.”
Real have also been beaten by Lille and AC Milan in Europe this term and are in desperate need of results to ensure they make the next stage of the competition. The signing of Mbappe, in the eyes of many, was going to take Los Blancos up another level.
The Frenchman has struggled for form since swapping Paris for Madrid and could produce when called upon by his team. Mbappe stepped up from 12 yards with the score at 1-0, only to see Caoimhin Kelleher deny him, but Bellingham has absolved him from any blame.
“Obviously it’s a big moment in the game, but it can happen, he’s a wonderful player but the pressure he holds is huge,” he said. “The penalty is not the reason we lost the game, as a collective we weren’t good enough on the night. Kylian can keep his head high, I know for sure, that he will produce many more moments that are huge for this club.”
