‘He Gave His All’: Arbeloa Strongly Defends Mbappe Over Defensive Work Rate

Arbeloa backs Mbappe, avoids questions on Real Madrid future

Under pressure after Bayern defeat, Arbeloa backs Mbappe and stays tight-lipped on his Real Madrid future with seven games left. PSG won the Champions League the year after Mbappe left for Madrid. Now both he and under-fire boss Arbeloa face questions.

Alvaro Arbeloa defends Kylian Mbappe after Bayern loss, insisting the French star “gave his all” despite criticism of his defensive work...

Real Madrid coach Alvaro Arbeloa came out firmly in support of Kylian Mbappe after the French star drew criticism for allegedly shirking defensive duties in last week’s Champions League loss to Bayern Munich.

Arbeloa, facing heat himself with Madrid almost certain to end the season trophyless, insisted Mbappe has nothing to answer for. He pointed out that beyond scoring in both legs of the quarter-final, Mbappe “gave everything defensively.”

Madrid fell 4-3 in a dramatic second leg against Bayern Munich, going out 6-4 on aggregate after Eduardo Camavinga’s 86th-minute red card left the Spanish side with 10 men.

Bayern netted twice following the French midfielder’s sending off, which triggered the wave of criticism aimed at Mbappe.

  

Arbeloa wasn’t buying any of it during his pre-match press conference on Monday.

“I have nothing to reproach Kylian about,” said Arbeloa, whose side host Alaves on Tuesday.

“He was at the top of his game, he scored in both legs and was a constant threat to their defence.

“He gave his all in defence, and he worked really hard.

“I was thoroughly satisfied with his performance in that match,” added the 43-year-old.

With 40 goals across all competitions in his second season in Spain, Mbappe will have to put his Champions League “dream” on hold for another year. 

That was the reason he left French giants Paris Saint-Germain for Madrid, only for PSG to add insult to injury by lifting European club football’s biggest prize last season.

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📺 Press conference ➡️ RM Play

— Real Madrid C.F. 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@realmadriden) April 20, 2026

Arbeloa’s own future is uncertain after he took over from Xabi Alonso earlier this season. With seven games left, bitter rivals Barcelona sit nine points clear of Madrid in the LaLiga title race.

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— Real Madrid C.F. 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@realmadriden) April 19, 2026

 

He wouldn’t be drawn on his future, saying only that it was out of his hands. Still, he argued Real don’t need a “huge revolution” to turn things around next season.