Álvaro Arbeloa admitted it has been “a difficult four months” for Kylian Mbappé and Vinícius Júnior, but backed them to deliver for Real Madrid after the team’s 1-0 win at Sevilla, the report says. Vinícius scored the game’s only goal in the 15th minute at the Sánchez Pizjuán, while Mbappé played 90 minutes after missing last weekend’s Clásico and being whistled by the Bernabéu crowd in midweek, per the report.
The relationship between Arbeloa and Mbappé was in the spotlight after Madrid’s 2-0 victory over Real Oviedo, when Mbappé said he’d been told he was the team’s “fourth-choice forward,” a claim Arbeloa denied, the report says. In his post-match news conference on Sunday, Arbeloa said, “I’m very satisfied with both of them, with their effort,” and noted he had been at the club for four months and believed both players had tried to give their best, according to the report.
Arbeloa urged patience and praised the pair’s quality, saying they were players any club would want and calling them “two of the five most game-changing players in the world,” the report says. He added that Real Madrid was lucky to have both and lamented that Mbappé could not add a goal on the day even though he “did a great job,” per the report.
The report notes broader context for the comments: Mbappé has scored 24 league goals for Madrid this season amid what the report describes as an otherwise underwhelming campaign that has seen the team miss out on major trophies for the second campaign in a row. It also says Vinícius’ form improved under Arbeloa after clashing with the coach’s predecessor, Xabi Alonso.
Arbeloa gave an update on fitness, saying Vinícius had been substituted “with some discomfort” but that there were “no serious” injuries, and that defender Dean Huijsen had suffered “a knock,” the report says. Madrid will host Athletic Club next weekend in their last game of the season, with Arbeloa calling it a day of farewells and saying, “We’ll try to play a great game in front of our fans. And that goes for me too,” per the report.
