Jude Bellingham has told Kylian Mbappe to ‘keep his head high’ after the Frenchman saw his penalty saved by Caoimhin Kelleher in Real Madrid’s 2-0 loss to Liverpool on Wednesday.
The reigning Champions League winners have suffered a disastrous fall from grace in Europe as things got even worse at Anfield.
Arne Slot’s side were dominant throughout the match as Real were left chasing shadows for the most part.
Alexis Mac Allister gave Liverpool a deserved lead in the second half, but Real were given a lifeline minutes later when Andy Robertson gave away a penalty.
Jude Bellingham has jumped to the defence of Kylian Mbappe
PA
Mbappe stepped up to take the resulting spot kick, but saw his tame effort saved by Kelleher as Anfield erupted.
The miss proved costly as Liverpool went on to double their lead through Cody Gakpo to secure all three points.
Real now sit 24th in the table with just three games remaining and are at serious risk of missing out on qualifying for the knockout phase.
Mbappe has not had the impact he would have hoped at Real in Europe since his move in the summer, scoring just once in five games.
But Bellingham has every confidence that the 25-year-old can find top form soon to help get Real back on track.
“It’s obviously a big moment in the game but it can happen,” Bellingham said.
“He’s a wonderful player but the pressure he holds because of how good he is is huge… the penalty’s not the reason we lost the game.
“As a collective, we weren’t good enough on the night. They performed better than us and it’s as simple as that.
“Kylian can keep his head high. I know for sure that he will produce many more moments that are huge for this club.”
Alexis Mac Allister scored Liverpool’s opener
PA
Bellingham ultimately felt that Real were second best on the night against an in-form Liverpool side, who have won 17 of their 19 matches in all competitions this season.
“I think to be fair from the first minute they just took control of the game,” he added.
“We never really maximised the spells that we had in possession when we got the ball back.
“I think we probably tried to force the counter-attack a few too many times and turned it over so much that they managed to keep control.
LATEST SPORT NEWS:
Caoimhin Kelleher saved Kylian Mbappe’s penalty
PA
“Defensively, they kept us in a place where we couldn’t reallly harm them as much.
“I just think they were more up for it than us which is really disappointing to say but it’s a bad result against probably the best-performing team in Europe.
“It’s no disgrace to come here and lose but we are disappointed in the way we performed and the important thing is we use it in the right way.
“We’ve got three games left in the group and it’s important to go and win all of them to give us the best possible chance in the standings.”