Gary Lineker has said that he can’t believe what he’s heard from Jude Bellingham after the recent Champions League clash between Manchester City and Real Madrid.
On Wednesday evening, the Blues drew 1-1 against Carlo Ancelotti’s side in the second-leg quarter-final tie.
After extra time, City lost on penalties, leaving the Spanish side booking their place in the semis.
Now though, one pundit has shared his thoughts on what was said by one of Real’s star players after this big showdown.
Lineker baffled by Bellingham comments
Speaking in a recent edition of The Rest Is Football, Lineker had this to say on the matter.
He said: “I saw an interview with Jude Bellingham who handles himself so brilliantly, and someone asked him about Ancelotti and said tactically what does he do that makes him so special and he said ‘it is the freedom he gives us’.
“I thought freedom in that game! You played like Luton did on Saturday, you played 10 people behind the ball and hoped to hit on the counterattack occasionally.
“And credit to them, they defended well. But they were lucky, really, really lucky not to lose that game.”
Jude Bellingham didn’t have much freedom against Man City
Looking back over the midweek draw, City had 67% possession and a passing accuracy percentage of 92%.
In comparison, Real had 33% of the ball and a passing accuracy percentage of 82%.
Bearing in mind how the Blues had 33 shots at goal in total compared to the Spanish side’s eight, and made 463 more passes than them, it’s clear that Bellingham and his teammates didn’t have much freedom on this occasion given how much City dominated them.
This makes it easy to see why Lineker was taken aback by what the midfielder had to say after their midweek draw in Manchester.