Bellingham admits Liverpool were ‘more up for it’ in Real Madrid’s UCL defeat

Jude Bellingham has admitted Liverpool were 'more looking forward to it' than Real Madrid in Wednesday night's heavyweight Champions League match.

The Reds dominated proceedings at Anfield, maintaining their perfect record in the competition with five wins from five games and regaining top spot in the league stage of the tournament.

Alexis Mac Allister and Cody Gakpo were on target for Arne Slot's men, who are enjoying a dream first season under the Dutchman in both the Premier League and Champions League.

And despite Kylian Mbappe seeing his penalty saved by Caoimhin Kelleher when the score was still 1-0, Madrid never really looked like they would take anything from the match as their difficult form in Europe continued.

The result has dropped them to 24th place – the last place that takes sides through to the next round – and faces a realistic prospect of dropping out of the competition early.

But they have only themselves to blame, claimed Bellingham, who insisted it was the manner of the defeat that left him disappointed.

“They took control of the game from the first minute,” he told TNT Sports after the match. “We never really maximized the spell we owned.

“When we got the ball back, we probably tried to force the counter-attack a few too many times and turned it over until they had control. Defensively, they kept us in a spot where we couldn't really do them much harm.”

“They were just more into it than us, which is really disappointing to say. It's a bad result against the best performing team in Europe. There's no shame in coming here and losing, but we're disappointed with the way we performed.

'The most important thing is that we use it correctly now. We have three games left in the group and it is important that we try to win them all to give ourselves the best possible chances in the standings.”

Bellingham, who scored 23 goals last season, has struggled to repeat the same form this season after scoring just two goals in 15 games.

It was thought that Mbappe's arrival would help him further add to his numbers, but the pair have not yet clicked and the Frenchman struggled all night at Anfield.

However, Bellingham backed his teammate despite admitting the penalty miss had a major impact on the outcome of the match.

“It's a big moment in the game, but it can happen,” Bellingham said. 'He is a great player, but the pressure he exerts is enormous because he is so good.

'The penalty is not the reason why we lost the match. As a collective we weren't good enough that night. Kylian can hold his head high and I'm sure he will create many more moments that are huge for this club.”