Bellingham Says Real Madrid Ready for Any Opponent in Champions League Play-offs

Jude Bellingham (L) and Rodrygo were the goal-scorers for Real Madrid in their 3-0 win at Brest on Wednesday (Damien MEYER) - AFP
Jude Bellingham (L) and Rodrygo were the goal-scorers for Real Madrid in their 3-0 win at Brest on Wednesday (Damien MEYER) - AFP
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Bellingham Says Real Madrid Ready for Any Opponent in Champions League Play-offs

Jude Bellingham (L) and Rodrygo were the goal-scorers for Real Madrid in their 3-0 win at Brest on Wednesday (Damien MEYER) - AFP
Jude Bellingham (L) and Rodrygo were the goal-scorers for Real Madrid in their 3-0 win at Brest on Wednesday (Damien MEYER) - AFP

Jude Bellingham insisted Real Madrid would be ready for whoever they have to face in the Champions League play-offs and that the reigning champions are "starting to click" after their 3-0 win in Brest on Wednesday.

Bellingham scored Real's second goal in between a double strike from Rodrygo as the Spanish giants proved too strong for the French upstarts in Guingamp.

It was a third straight win to finish the league phase of the Champions League for Real after they started with three defeats in their first five outings, and that poor start is what led to them coming 11th in the standings.

They finished a point outside the top eight places which offered direct qualification for the last 16, and therefore enter Friday's draw for the extra play-off round, AFP reported.

They already know that they will face either Manchester City or Celtic in the play-offs in February, with the winners over two legs advancing to the last 16 in March.

"It was important to get the win and finish the group stage strong. I think we probably let ourselves down in a few of the games and that is the reason why we have ended up" in the play-offs, Bellingham told UEFA.com.

"No problem, we'll try and face whatever obstacle comes with a better face and you can see that we are definitely starting to click as a team in the last few weeks."

Carlo Ancelotti's side have won their last five matches in all competitions since a 5-2 pasting at the hands of Barcelona in the Spanish Super Cup final in Saudi Arabia on January 12.

Rodrygo opened the scoring against Brest just before the half-hour mark for Real with a low shot across goalkeeper Marco Bizot and in off the far post, moments after the Brazilian had a header expertly saved.

The visitors were missing Vinicius Junior through suspension and Kylian Mbappe was not on scoring form, having previously netted eight times in the last five games.

But that didn't matter, as Real survived seeing Brest's Ludovic Ajorque have a goal disallowed for a tight offside just after half-time before they went 2-0 ahead on 56 minutes.

Bellingham, the player of the match, sparked a breakaway and then arrived in the box to finish off Lucas Vazquez's low centre.

Rodrygo then scored again on 78 minutes, claiming a brace in a second straight Champions League game, after Mbappe's shot was saved.

"I think we overlook who scores the goals and that kind of thing because we know that each game it will be someone else, whether it's Rodrygo's two and me one tonight, whether it's Kylian with three the other day," Bellingham added.

"Someone will always step up with a bit of individual brilliance and the rest of us will focus on the organisation of the team.

"That is maybe what we lacked in a few of the early group games but it seems to be getting better over the last few weeks."

Real qualified from the league phase despite defeats against Lille, AC Milan and Liverpool, and Bellingham gave the new format a thumbs up overall.

"It has been nice playing more teams of a higher quality and a real mixed group of teams from all over Europe. It's nice to have a bit more jeopardy," he said.

Brest are also through to the play-off round after a memorable first ever European campaign which has seen them finish 18th in the table, above the likes of Juventus and Manchester City, despite losing their last two games.

They will play either French rivals Paris Saint-Germain or Benfica in the next round.

"We want to keep going, make even more history than we have already, and if we can continue to get results, why not," said Bizot.



Salah Scores, Sets Up Equalizer as Liverpool Draws 2-2 at Villa to Lead Premier League by 8 Points

19 February 2025, United Kingdom, Birmingham: Liverpool's Mohamed Salah is tackled by Aston Villa's Youri Tielemans (R) during the English Premier League soccer match between Aston Villa and Liverpool at the Villa Park. Photo: Nick Potts/PA Wire/dpa
19 February 2025, United Kingdom, Birmingham: Liverpool's Mohamed Salah is tackled by Aston Villa's Youri Tielemans (R) during the English Premier League soccer match between Aston Villa and Liverpool at the Villa Park. Photo: Nick Potts/PA Wire/dpa
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Salah Scores, Sets Up Equalizer as Liverpool Draws 2-2 at Villa to Lead Premier League by 8 Points

19 February 2025, United Kingdom, Birmingham: Liverpool's Mohamed Salah is tackled by Aston Villa's Youri Tielemans (R) during the English Premier League soccer match between Aston Villa and Liverpool at the Villa Park. Photo: Nick Potts/PA Wire/dpa
19 February 2025, United Kingdom, Birmingham: Liverpool's Mohamed Salah is tackled by Aston Villa's Youri Tielemans (R) during the English Premier League soccer match between Aston Villa and Liverpool at the Villa Park. Photo: Nick Potts/PA Wire/dpa

Mohamed Salah scored one goal and set up the equalizer by Trent Alexander-Arnold in Liverpool’s 2-2 draw at Aston Villa that stretched its lead in the Premier League to eight points on Wednesday.
Salah tucked away with his league-leading 24th goal of the campaign to put Liverpool ahead at Villa Park in the 29th minute, only for the leaders to fall behind by halftime following a volley by Youri Tielemans and a header from Ollie Watkins.
Alexander-Arnold ran onto an inside pass from Salah and drove in a shot that deflected past Villa goalkeeper Emi Martinez in the 61st as Liverpool salvaged a point from an end-to-end game, avoiding what would have been just a second league defeat of the season, The Associated Press reported.
It remains to be seen whether this was a good point for Liverpool in one of the toughest away fixtures in the league or two more dropped points, a week after a 2-2 draw at local rival Everton.
“We desired more,” Liverpool manager Arne Slot said, "and that is the only thing we can blame ourselves for a few times now — we did not get what we deserved. We must not make a habit of that.”
Liverpool has now played a game more than second-place Arsenal, which appears to be the only other realistic challenger for the title, and has another tough away game on Sunday at Manchester City.
Arsenal plays first out of the top two at the weekend — at home to West Ham on Saturday — and has the chance to trim the lead to five points before Liverpool meets City.
Liverpool is seeking a 20th top-flight championship to tie the record of Manchester United.
Salah is spearheading Liverpool's title charge. Not only is the Egypt forward the league's top scorer, with five more than nearest challenger Erling Haaland of Manchester City, he has more assists than anyone else with 15.
Should Arsenal wind up reeling in Liverpool, the Reds may regret a big miss from Darwin Nunez after the Uruguay striker came on as a substitute. Dominik Szoboszlai ran through a squared the ball to Nunez, who had an open goal at which to aim with a left-footed shot.
Nunez blazed the finish high and wide, with Slot on the touchline barely believing what he had seen.
Villa then had chances to win it, with Morgan Rogers shooting over when well-placed and substitute Donyell Malen driving a low shot just wide with one of the last kicks of the game.
“We had some good chances to make it 3-2 and then we could even have lost it,” Slot said. “It was a great game but I am not happy with the result.”
Villa, which has lost just once at home all season in the league, stayed in ninth place and is four points off fifth. A fifth-place finish looks set to be enough to qualify for next season's Champions League.