Alvaro Arbeloa Aims Subtle Dig at Trent Alexander-Arnold After Shock Real Madrid Loss

The 15-time European champions came away empty handed against relegation-battling Mallorca.

Trent Alexander-Arnold committed another defensive blunder. | Gokhan Taner/SOPA Images/LightRocket/Getty Images

Real Madrid manager Álvaro Arbeloa did not call out any players by name, but he undoubtedly had Trent Alexander-Arnold and Eduardo Camavinga in mind when he criticized the team’s defending following its 2–1 loss to Mallorca on Saturday.

The Spaniard started off his press conference taking blame—as he always does—for Los Blancos’ poor performance before getting into the careless mistakes he witnessed from his men in what was a must-win game to keep the La Liga title race alive.

“The tricky bit is getting the players to understand that, without giving 200%, we weren’t going to win,” Arbeloa said. “You lose focus for a moment, you don’t adjust properly, you lose your mark, you don’t track him, and it costs you a goal.”

The subtle dig could apply to Camavinga, who let Mallorca midfielder Manu Morlanes drive into the box, completely unmarked, to score the game’s opener. Arbeloa could also be referring to Alexander-Arnold after the fullback lost track of Mateo Joseph in stoppage time, allowing the forward to set up the match-winner for the hosts.

Both blunders cost Real Madrid goals, and in turn, likely any chance of stealing the Spanish crown from Barcelona.

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Arbeloa Gives Real Madrid’s La Liga Title Verdict

Álvaro Arbeloa got honest about his team’s La Liga title chances. | Jose Hernandez/Anadolu/Getty Images

After losing out to Mallorca, the gap to Hansi Flick’s men remains four points. But if Barcelona secure a positive result against Atlético Madrid on Saturday evening, the Catalans could pull away in the La Liga title race.

Arbeloa gave an honest assessment of his team’s chances at topping the league come May. “It’s tougher than it was before the match started. We’ve got eight games left and, as I’ve told the players, whatever the league situation, our next objective is to win all eight of them.

“And to do that, we have to play better than we did today and perform at a much higher level. It’s all more difficult, but our objective has to remain the same.”

Atlético Madrid could do their neighboring rivals a huge service by stealing points off Barcelona, but Arbeloa would not entertain such talk.

“That’s not my concern. I’m focused on my team and preparing for Tuesday’s match. I don’t waste time on that.”

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Critical Errors Could Prompt Big Changes for Bayern Munich Clash

Vinicius Junior will be back in the XI for Tuesday’s Champions League bout. | Cristian Trujillo/Quality Sport Images/Getty Images

Losing to Mallorca would have been bad enough on a normal weekend, but doing so just three days before having to take on Bayern Munich in the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinals leaves Real Madrid in a dismal position.

The silver lining for Arbeloa’s men, though, is that the XI that squares off with the German giants on Tuesday evening will not be the XI that underwhelmed at Son Moix.

Eduardo Camavinga is expected to make way for the return of Federico Valverde, while Manuel Ángel gets replaced by fellow Real Madrid Castilla product Thiago Pitarch. Jude Bellingham could also be in line to start, but his last two cameos did little to make his case.

Vinicius Junior will of course return to the attack, pushing Brahim Díaz to the bench. Alexander-Arnold’s spot on the right flank should be safe, unless Arbeloa takes extreme action and entrusts Dani Carvajal instead.

Real Madrid will hope the wholesale changes are enough to muster a positive result against Vincent Kompany’s men, or else they could potentially be in for a trophyless season.

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