Recovered, Mbappé earns praise from Arbeloa at Real: "Best in the world" | OneFootball

One day before the second leg of the Champions League round of 16 against Manchester City, Real Madrid coach Álvaro Arbeloa praised his squad on Monday, especially French striker Kylian Mbappé, who is back with the team after recovering from a knee injury.

When asked if Real Madrid is more competitive without Mbappé on the field, Arbeloa replied: “It’s hard to imagine that a team could be more competitive without the best player in the world, but that says a lot about the Real Madrid squad, about the effort many players are making, and about the level and quality of all of them. So, I’m very pleased because, even without the best player in the world, people are speaking so highly of the team’s current form.”

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Recovered from a sprain in his left knee, the French star is available for the clash against City and may play for a few minutes.

Arbeloa expressed his desire to see the team take the field with the same mentality they showed in the first leg at Santiago Bernabéu, which ended with a 3-0 victory for the Spaniards.

“I want to see the same Real Madrid from the first leg. We have to go out there to win and show the same commitment as in the first match, or even more, because we know it won’t be easy and that they will put us under pressure. Humility and ambition are what we must show tomorrow,” he declared.

In the same interview, the Spanish coach ruled out the participation of English midfielder Jude Bellingham, who is injured, in the match at the Etihad Stadium.

*With content from AFP

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.