Real Madrid boss Alvaro Arbeloa backed star striker Kylian Mbappé to answer his critics with a match-winning display against Bayern Munich in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final on Tuesday night at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Madrid go into the clash on the back of a 2-1 defeat at relegation-threatened Mallorca on Saturday night.
The setback came in Mbappé's first match for Real Madrid after a month on the sidelines with a knee injury.
Coupled with the 2-1 win of pacesetters Barcelona at Atletico Madrid, Arbeloa's side lie seven points behind in second place with eight games remaining of the 2025/26 La Liga season.
Bayern meanwhile scored three times in the last 20 minutes to beat Freiburg 3-2 to maintain a nine-point advantage at the top of the German Bundesliga.
“We’re not thinking about not winning the match,” said Arbeloa on the eve of the game against Bayern.
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“To win a football match, there are many things you need to do well – have a complete team, have that defensive mindset.
“I expect a Madrid team that has always stepped up to the challenge against a great rival who will demand a lot of work from us," he added.
Mbappé, 27, came under fire for his lack of defensive involvement during the game against Mallorca.
“Mbappé is very good, but he hasn’t understood Real Madrid.” said Josep Pedrerol, host of the show El Chiringuito after the defeat.
"The Mbappé Football Club is very good, but I don’t think he understands Real Madrid, what Madrid is."
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Arbeloa, who took over from Xabi Alonso in January, rejected criticism of a player who joined Madrid after seven prolific seasons at Paris Saint-Germain.
“Kylian knows what it means to play at Real Madrid. When he was growing up, he dreamed of being a Real Madrid player. We’re lucky to have him. I don’t think there’s a coach in the world who wouldn’t want him.”
Mbappé has scored 38 goals in 36 games this season for Madrid who have won the Champions League a record nine times since the competition emerged out of the European Cup in 1992.
“Bayern Munich is a very complete team with many weapons to hurt opponents," Arbeloa warned.
"They have the ability to score a lot of goals, and a defence where everyone is involved.”
Bayern head coach Vincent Kompany refused to talk of his side as favourites for the game.
"The version of Real Madrid that we have to prepare for is the best Real Madrid," said the 39-year-old Belgian. "The one that beat Manchester City convincingly in the last-16.
"That's what we have to prepare for. And if you base your calculations on that Real Madrid, then it's still one of the best teams in Europe."
In Tuesday night's other quarter-final first leg game, Sporting entertain the English Premier League leaders Arsenal at the Estadio Jose Alvalade in Lisbon.
