Manager vows to keep fighting until last day but warns that his side must raise their intensity
Real Madrid head coach Alvaro Arbeloa insists the title race is not over despite his side’s 1-1 draw with Girona.
Madrid dropped points for the second consecutive league game, giving Barcelona the opportunity to stretch their lead to nine points with seven games left. Arbeloa admitted it was a game his side should have won.
“I leave with the feeling that, while it wasn’t our most brilliant performance, we should have won,” said Madrid’s coach. “With all the chances we created and how little we conceded to Girona, it was a match with a lineup strong enough to win.
“Given the players’ performance, we had opportunities to score more goals. It wasn’t to be, and we leave with this draw.”
Madrid controlled much of the game at the Santiago Bernabeu but failed to convert their dominance into a result, with Girona equalising shortly after Federico Valverde’s opener.
Arbeloa also rued his team’s failure to play at the level of intensity required, even against opponents they are expected to beat.
“As I’ve always said, to beat any team we need to give 200 per cent,” said Arbeloa. “We’re not a team that can win matches at 90 per cent, or not always. If you want to be much more confident against teams you’re superior to, you have to go all out. Otherwise, you can have accidents like the ones we’ve been having far too often.”
The Madrid coach was particularly frustrated by a late decision not to award a penalty after Kylian Mbappe went down in the box.
“For me, it’s a penalty here and everywhere. It’s just another one, another week,” said Arbeloa. “It is what it is. I don’t understand it, and I don’t think anyone understands when VAR intervenes. I imagine it’s used when it’s convenient, and when it’s not, well, it doesn’t [intervene].
“These events only reinforce my opinion. It was a clear-cut decision, in my opinion. They called a foul on Mbappe that I thought was less serious. We’ve had many issues with the referees. With this one, last week in Mallorca, the same old story.”
Asked if the title race was already decided, Arbeloa said: “No. I’ll only have that feeling the day we lose it. Until we lose it, we’ll keep fighting.
“And if we do lose it someday, all we can do is go out and defend our badge in every match and put on the best possible performance. This is Real Madrid, and we have to fight until the very last day.”
