Real Madrid's star players Kylian Mbappe & Jude Bellingham admitted they were not good enough in their shock loss at home to Valencia on Saturday.
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Valencia beat Madrid 2-1Bellingham and Mbappe admit shortcomingsLos Blancos face Arsenal nextFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?
Both Mbappe and Bellingham took to social media accepting their need to improve on the pitch ahead of a big week. Los Blancos suffered a late, 2-1 defeat to Valencia to leave them four points behind league leaders and bitter rivals Barcelona. With the league seemingly slipping away, Madrid know that back-to-back success in the Champions League may represent their last chance of finishing the season with silverware.
AdvertisementGetty/GOALWHAT MBAPPE & BELLINGHAM SAID
Posting on their Instagram stories, Mbappe and Bellingham expressed their disappointment. The former said: "A bad day for us. Full focus on Tuesday."
Bellingham added on his own story: "Nowhere near good enough from us. Must change for Tuesday!"
THE BIGGER PICTURE
It is clear that Madrid’s trip to north London to take on Arsenal is at the forefront of their players’ minds. Similarly, the Gunners have had a mixed season, blighted by injuries, and also dropped points on the weekend against Everton. Champions League glory is almost certainly the only avenue for success this season and, taking on Madrid for the first time since a 1-0 aggregate victory in 2006, Arsenal will be determined to show they can match the level of the defending champions.
Getty Images SportWHAT NEXT FOR REAL MADRID?
Arsenal will play the first leg at home before the sides return to the Spanish capital for the second leg the following week. The Gunners, without a number of key players, will be hopeful of taking any advantage to the Santiago Bernabeu – where Madrid are capable of magic.
