Real Madrid manager Álvaro Arbeloa openly admitted that two avoidable turnovers handed Bayern Munich a 2-1 victory in the Champions League quarter-final first leg on Tuesday night at the Santiago Bernabéu.
Luis Díaz and Harry Kane struck for the visitors, while Kylian Mbappé pulled one back for the hosts. Although Real Madrid dominated stretches of the second half, those slip-ups proved decisive and left the Spanish giants with a tough task ahead in next week’s return leg at the Allianz Arena.
Arbeloa faced reporters straight after the final whistle and refused to sugarcoat the result. “This is a defeat we perhaps could have avoided in the second half with a bit more luck. We faced a great team, and we knew it. We made two mistakes, two turnovers, which we had discussed before the match and during halftime, that we needed to avoid,” he explained.
His frank assessment highlights how Bayern, under Vincent Kompany, exploited exactly the areas Real Madrid had targeted for improvement.
Meanwhile, the bad news keeps mounting for the Los Blancos. Midfielder Aurélien Tchouaméni picked up a yellow card during the match, triggering an automatic one-game suspension due to accumulated bookings. The 26-year-old France international will therefore miss the decisive second leg against Bayern.
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Despite the setback in Europe, Real Madrid remain firmly in the La Liga title race. They currently sit in second place with 69 points from 30 matches, trailing leaders Barcelona by a narrow margin.
Next up, the squad hosts Girona in La Liga on Friday, April 10. They then travel to face Bayern Munich in the Champions League return leg on Wednesday, April 15, before returning to league action with home games against Alavés on Tuesday, April 21, and a trip to Real Betis on Friday, April 24.
