Bellingham talks Vinicius, Mbappe, Alonso, derby revenge ahead of Atletico vs Real Madrid | OneFootball

Real Madrid lock horns with local rivals Atletico Madrid on Thursday night in the second semifinal of the 2025/26 Spanish Super Cup.

The Merengues, who were hammered 5-2 in their previous meeting against Los Rojiblancos in La Liga earlier in the season, will be hoping to put up a much stronger performance and secure a place in the final.

A misstep here could prove costly for manager Xabi Alonso, who remains under intense pressure despite stringing together four wins on the bounce.

On the eve of the Madrileno derby in the Super Cup semifinal, Jude Bellingham appeared in front of the media for the press conference, along with Alonso, and discussed several matters, including his role and the manager’s future.

Kicking things off, Bellingham elaborated on what kind of match he was expecting against Atletico Madrid tomorrow, saying:

“The key is that it will be difficult; they are a tough opponent. We have to learn from that league match against them, our first defeat of the season. We’ve reviewed that game and learned from it. I’m looking forward to this match.”

The England international then touched upon his superstar teammate Vinicius Jr., who has been going through a rough patch in front of goal in recent weeks.

“There’s a lot of pressure on him, he does so much for the team. Maybe he’s also had a bit of a scoring drought, but I see him as an electric and creative player, he creates things out of nothing. Goals don’t tell the whole story,” said Bellingham in Vini’s defence.

“We have to see him as a very useful teammate. We want him to be the best Vini again; when he’s at his best, he’s very dangerous. We have to support him. He’ll be back to his old self.”

Bellingham then discussed his own role in the team, which has changed since Kylian Mbappe’s arrival last season, and has in turn impacted his goal return.

“It’s been an easy transition. In my first season, there wasn’t a natural striker; I lived very close to the penalty area. But now, with Mbappe, we have a striker who scores 50 goals a season, so I don’t have to be so far forward,” noted the England star.

Further elaborating on what his current role demands, he added: “I have to cover other areas of the pitch. Every season I’ll contribute my goals; I have that ability to get forward. Last year I scored 15, which isn’t bad at all. This season I’ve already got a few.

“I’m playing a bit deeper, influencing the play more. I have to cover different areas of the pitch. Goals have never been the most important thing. I have that ability to get forward, but I can do everything where I play now.” 

The dressing room is fully behind Alonso, insists Bellingham. (Photo by Angel Martinez/Getty Images)

Regarding Alonso and whether failure in the Super Cup could spell the end of his time at the club, Bellingham said:

“I don’t make decisions, I can only give my opinion. We’re all united in the dressing room, we need to be united. Sometimes there are these ups and downs.

“We have to look at where we are now, in a semi-final, four points behind the leader, in the Champions League Top 8… It’s not a disaster. We want to be better, I hope we can win. The decisions are made far above us.” 

On whether there are indeed problems in the dressing room as has been speculated, the midfield ace replied:

“We’ve talked about the problems, but we know what’s going on in the dressing room. We’re behind the coach, there’s no debate.

“It’s been positive, we’re working to improve. I get along very well with everyone. If things aren’t going well, then we sit down and talk. We’re fully behind the coach.”

Bellingham then laughed off suggestions that he was pushing for Real Madrid to sign more English players, following the summer arrival of Trent Alexander-Arnold and recent links to Marc Guehi.

“It’s false that I’ve promoted that, that English players come. No player has that kind of influence at the club. I don’t even know where to begin with that… Thank you,” he said.

Concluding, Bellingham spoke about whether Real Madrid players had revenge on their mind heading into the derby, after being humbled 5-2 in the last meeting.

“This match is played with both heart and head. You can’t have just one or the other. We know how important this match is, especially after that 5-2 loss,” he said.

“We want to do it for the fans. We have to let our play on the pitch do the talking, stay focused, control the game, and control it well.”

Source: AS