Trent Alexander-Arnold and Jude Bellingham singled out by Spanish media after Liverpool tie

Real Madrid were beaten 1-0 by Liverpool in the Champions League on Wednesday night, with the Spanish giants taking a battering in the media after the game

Real Madrid have been slated in the Spanish press following their defeat to Liverpool in the Champions League. Alexis Mac Allister’s second half strike earned the hosts a 1-0 victory, which, without Thibaut Courtois’ heroics in goal, would have been an even bigger scoreline.

Los Blancos club entered the tie in dominant shape, boasting not only a flawless record in Europe but also 10 victories from 11 La Liga matches. Liverpool, meanwhile, had been struggling for consistency – losing six games in all competitions and looking vulnerable in the weeks leading up to the clash.

Yet Arne Slot’s men fully deserved their win, with Conor Bradley silencing Vinicius Jr and Ryan Gravenberch keeping Jude Bellingham under control. Spanish outlet Mundo Deportivo, however, singled out Kylian Mbappe, accusing the French forward of “going missing,” especially in the first 45.

“All the mystique and epic nature that the match showed minutes before the ball started rolling, began to fade as the minutes passed and the game of the two teams became more physical than anything else,” they wrote. “Especially [Real Madrid], who had a lot of the ball but without decisiveness.

“Although players like Vinicius or Bellingham got into the game a lot with it, not so other more lethal ones like Mbappe who was missing during the first half.” The outlet also handed Trent Alexander-Arnold – introduced in the second half to vicious boos – a poor one-star rating.

Cadena SER went after Bellingham as well, criticising the England midfielder and Mbappe for failing to contribute defensively: “Real Madrid has a problem with aerial balls. Despite having players like Eder Militao, Aurelien Tchouameni, and Dean Huijsen, they struggle to defend aerial balls because other players like Jude Bellingham and Kylian Mbappe don’t track back to cover them.”