Real Madrid Switch Gears Ahead Of Bayern Clash, Says Arbeloanewsline24

Real Madrid head coach Alvaro Arbeloa has urged the squad to refocus quickly on Bayern Munich after a 2-1 defeat at Mallorca damaged LaLiga ambitions, leaving Los Blancos seven points behind Barcelona and shifting immediate attention towards the Champions League quarter-final first leg at the Santiago Bernabeu on Tuesday.

The setback in Mallorca came before Robert Lewandowski scored late for Barcelona in a 2-1 victory over 10-man Atletico Madrid, meaning Real Madrid now trail the league leaders by seven points with eight fixtures left, and no club has recovered such a deficit at this stage of a LaLiga campaign.

Real Madrid welcome Bayern Munich on Tuesday in the Champions League quarter-final first leg, facing a Bundesliga side widely viewed as one of the strongest contenders for the trophy, yet Arbeloa believes the squad can respond to the domestic disappointment and secure a positive result with strong backing from the home support.

Mallorca’s victory arrived through Vedat Muriqi, who struck a 91st-minute winner and registered a 19th league goal of the 2025-26 campaign, extending a worrying defensive pattern for Real Madrid, who have allowed at least one goal in seven straight LaLiga matches, their longest such sequence since another seven-game run during October 2022.

Across all competitions, excluding the FIFA Club World Cup, Real Madrid have already lost 10 matches this season from 46 games, which stands as their second-poorest record by this stage in the last 17 seasons, with only the 2018-19 campaign worse, when Los Blancos had suffered 14 defeats after the same number of fixtures.

Key numbers from Real Madrid’s 2025-26 campaign so far highlight the scale of the current challenge, with defeat at Mallorca adding to the overall tally of losses and further exposing defensive fragility during a crucial stage of both LaLiga and Champions League competitions.

Reflecting on the performance against Mallorca, Arbeloa stressed belief in the squad’s quality and potential reaction in Europe, stating, “I know what my players are capable of,” as Real Madrid attempt to set aside domestic frustration ahead of a demanding Champions League meeting with Bayern Munich.

“I know they understand the importance of Tuesday’s match, and sometimes you just don’t have your day, things don’t work out, and today was one of those days. So, we need to switch gears now, prepare well for that match, because we don’t have much time, and the level of demand will be extremely high on Tuesday. I’m confident that the Madrid fans will give us another great Champions League night, as they have been doing and supporting us in recent matches. Without them, everything is harder, and with them, everything is much easier.”

Real Madrid therefore move towards the Real Madrid vs Bayern Munich tie needing both a strong response on the pitch and intense support from the stands, while also knowing that domestic hopes have become fragile after the latest LaLiga setback and the statistical markers of a difficult 2025-26 season.