Arsenal cruised to a 3-0 victory in the first leg of the quarter-final at the Emirates Stadium, with two sensational free-kicks from Declan Rice and a goal by Mikel Merino securing a convincing win.
The emphatic result gives the Gunners a strong advantage going into next week’s clash in Madrid. ..Continue Reading
Bellingham, speaking after the match, admitted that Madrid were “well off the pace” and acknowledged that it would take “something wild” for them to turn the tie around.
Still, the England international remains hopeful, insisting that Real Madrid can never be counted out, especially at home, where “crazy things can happen.”
‘We were nowhere near it,’ Bellingham told Amazon Prime. ‘That’s the fact and Arsenal were really good.
‘I know two of their goals were free-kicks but they could have had way more.
‘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 football and anything can happen at the Bernabeu.’
Rice had never scored direct from a free-kick before putting two past Thibaut Courtois, one of the best in the world.
On his England team-mate’s heroics, Bellingham said: ‘They’re two great pieces of individual quality and if it wasn’t for them, they still have other chances.
‘We got punished and that happens at top-level football. In these games, you need to create more.
‘Very rarely do you come to a place like this score one goal and take your lead back home. We didn’t do enough on the ball to threaten.’
Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti, meanwhile, admitted Arsenal outplayed his side but vowed to ‘try’ and overturn a three-goal deficit at the Bernabeu.
‘The result means that Arsenal were much better than us,’ the legendary manager said.
‘The game was a bit different. For 60 minutes the game was level, and then they shoot two fantastic free-kicks. The game it changes.
‘The reaction, mentally we went down. We had a problem in the final 30 minutes of the game.’
‘Now it will be very difficult in the second leg. But we have to try.’
After falling 11 points adrift of Premier League leaders Liverpool and crashing out of both domestic cup tournaments, Arsenal’s season seemed to be fizzling out.
But this triumph has reignited their campaign, placing them within touching distance of a Champions League final and offering a golden chance to claim the prestigious title for the first time in their history.
Gunners defender William Saliba said: ‘Big night, big game, good atmosphere and a big win.
‘We are so proud to win today in front of our fans, against a big team. It was a perfect night – we have to keep going like this and go there and win the game again.
‘When we keep a clean sheet, we are so proud. We are happy, the whole backline did a really good job today.
‘We have to be proud of all the team, every player who came in, every player who started the game was so good.’
Looking ahead to the return leg in Madrid, Saliba said: ‘Everyone was so happy, but we know that the job is not done.
‘We have to be happy, of course, because we won today, but we have to do the same next week, and we will be happier.’
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