Shellshocked Bellingham points finger at Madrid stars – ‘Running out of words’

Real Madrid finished in ninth in the Champions League table and will now have to contest a play‑off tie to try and secure a place in the round of 16 following their defeat to Benfica in Lisbon

Jude Bellingham was left incredibly frustrated after Real Madrid’s 4-2 defeat to Benfica in the Champions League and wasn’t afraid to point the finger at his team-mates. The result saw the Spanish giants drop into the play‑off places instead of progressing automatically to the round of 16.

Real trailed 2-1 at the break despite scoring the opener through Kylian Mbappe, but nothing could have prepared them for the drama that unfolded deep into stoppage time. From a Fredrik Aursnes free‑kick, the ball dropped onto the head of Benfica goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin, who guided it past Thibaut Courtois and into the back of the net.

“Yeah, obviously it’s horrible to lose like this in the manner,” Bellingham told CBS Sports afterwards. “I’m running out of words for some of these games now.

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“We’ll have to obviously review it tomorrow and have a look at the goals we conceded and things like that but yeah… Not much to say right now.

“It’s still a bit raw so not really sure what to think but yeah, we’ll have to look at it tomorrow.”

The win saw Jose Mourinho’s side climb above Marseille to take the final play‑off spot, edging them on goal difference. Meanwhile, Real finished ninth just one place below the automatic qualification spots.

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Bellingham played the entire game but did not get on the scoresheet with Mbappe scoring both goals. Andreas Schjelderup also bagged a brace while Vangelis Pavlidis netted from the spot on the brink of half-time.

Asked whether Benfica were the more aggressive team, Bellingham agreed, adding: “100%, yeah.

“One of the factors for sure, the duels, they won all of them, ran harder, pressed better, landed on second balls, the basic things that we don’t do so well to be honest.

“I mean, we have so much talent and people who can produce magic out of nowhere but if you don’t do the basic things, you’re going to get punished but look, what can you do?

“What can we do from now? Moan and complain that we found ourselves in this position outside of the top eight or approach it with the same mentality as if we’re playing the quarter-final? It doesn’t matter to us now, we have to carry on.”

Alvaro Arbeloa’s side will learn their fate on Friday (January 29), when the draw begins in Switzerland at 11am and features the teams that finished between ninth and 24th in the table. There is a possibility Real could face Benfica again.

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