Carlo Ancelotti admitted that Jude Bellingham was “not at his best” in the first leg of Real Madrid’s Champions League semi-final against Bayern Munich, but backed him to come good in the return game at the Bernabéu next week.
Ancelotti revealed that Bellingham was suffering from cramp and fatigue during the game, a problem that has often afflicted him in the past, and one that led to his substitution here after 75 minutes.
“Bellingham was just tired,” Ancelotti said. “He couldn’t continue any more. I have enough good players on the bench. He will get back to his best performance. I think he was injured, which affected him, but today he wasn’t at his best. He will be back, for sure, and on Wednesday he will be at 100% again.”
Perhaps it is fair to say that Ancelotti was satisfied by the result but not necessarily the performance. His Madrid side were overwhelmed in the opening minutes but still emerged ahead at the break, and after a early second-half flurry from Bayern a late penalty from Vinícius Júnior sealed a slightly streaky draw.
“In the first half we had to defend, but we did it without the intensity I wanted,” said Ancelotti. “For that reason, you have to suffer in a place like this – everyone in the world knows that. I think it’s a good result, and gives us faith and confidence for the second leg. It’s still completely open.”
His opposite number, Thomas Tuchel, described the tie as 50-50, while lamenting his side’s lack of precision in front of goal.
“The result is the result,” he said. “Real Madrid has done this before, scoring two goals from two chances in each half. We are not the first team to whom this has happened. It is still a 50-50 match. The Bernabéu is one of the most difficult places to win, yes. But I think we will be able to create chances.”
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For Bayern midfielder Jamal Musiala, a draw was “a little bit of a bitter feeling”, having played so well. “Real Madrid have the quality to create something from situations where you think they won’t create anything,” he said. “We’ll keep our heads high and go again at the Bernabéu.”