Why Bellingham Was Applauded in Real Madrid Dressing Room After Arsenal 

After a Champions League quarter-final defeat as heavy as the one Real Madrid suffered at the Emirates Stadium this week – on a night that saw Declan Rice score twice from a free-kick to help Arsenal on their way to a 3-0 first-leg win – there are very few, if any, positives to take away from north London.

The fact of the matter is, only four teams in the competition’s history have ever come from three goals behind to turn things around during a knockout game, and none of them are Carlo Ancelotti’s side. With a squad as almighty as theirs, though, there’s always a chance.

And this is the sentiment acknowledged by Jude Bellingham, as he was met with rapturous applause by his teammates when he delivered a rousing speech to try up the ante ahead of a crucial return leg at the Bernabeu next week on April 16.

Jude Bellingham’s Rousing Speech After Arsenal Defeat

The Englishman was eager to ensure his teammates’ heads didn’t drop

According to El Chiringuito TV, the English midfielder was one of a number of senior players who addressed the squad in the angry away dressing room at the Emirates. Bellingham, Federico Valverde, Vinicius Junior and Kylian Mbappe all did their bit to try motivate the team, who responded with rapturous applause.

As per the TV station, Valverde’s motivational speech centred on the pride of playing and fighting for Real Madrid and the club’s rich history as 15-time Kings of Europe.The Uruguayan midfielder allegedly said:

“What happened to us? This can’t happen. We have 90 more minutes, and we have to show that we are Real Madrid. We have 15 Champions Leagues. We need to score in the first 15 minutes.If we score in the first 15 minutes we will win. We will come back!”

It’s not known what Bellingham said in his speech, but confidence in completing what presents itself as mission impossible is running high among the Los Blancos players. In his post-match interview on Tuesday night, the midfielder – who is among those chasing a Ballon d’Or this year – reminded Arsenal that “anything can happen at the Bernabeu.”

“There is a second leg and that’s what we’re holding on to. We need something really special, something crazy really but one place where crazy things happen is our house. We’ve got 90 more minutes at home to pull something out of the bag. We’re still alive, we’ve got 90 mins of footba