Sam Marsden and Moises Llorens Oct 29, 2023, 7:52am ET4 minutes read
Moreno: Bellingham’s currently best player in the world
Ale Moreno praises Jude Bellingham after the young England midfielder scored twice in Real Madrid’s 2-1 win over Barcelona.
Ilkay Gundogan said Barcelona must show more emotion and more anger if they want to compete in the biggest games after losing El Clásico 2-1 to Real Madrid at the Olympic Stadium on Saturday.
Barça took a first-half lead through Gündogan, but a brace from Jude Bellingham after the break, including the winner in the 92nd minute, helped Madrid return to the top of LaLiga, level on points with Girona and four ahead of the Blaugrana.
– Stream on ESPN+: LaLiga, Bundesliga, more (USA)
– Barca were better, but Bellingham proved the difference in the Clásico
Gündogan said the way Barça reacted to the defeat highlighted the problems they will face if they want to challenge for the title this season.
“I have to be honest, not as much as I would like because I don’t want to say the wrong thing, but I was in the dressing room and of course people are disappointed,” the German midfielder told LaLiga TV.
“But especially after such a big game and a result that is so unnecessary, I wish there was more frustration, more anger and more disappointment. That’s a bit of the problem.”
Ilkay Gundogan demanded more frustration from his Barcelona teammates after the defeat to rivals Real Madrid.Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images
“There has to be more emotion, especially when you’re losing and you know you can perform better, are better in certain situations and you just don’t react.”
“At the end of the day, that carries over to the field. We have to take a big step, otherwise Real Madrid or even Girona will run away. I didn’t come here to lose a game like that or let it create a gap.”
The 33-year-old Gündogan moved to Barça from Manchester City as a free agent in the summer after winning the treble with the Premier League team.
Barça manager Madrid to recover.
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“As a more experienced player, I also have a responsibility not to allow the team to let things just happen,” he added. “No, we need resistance.”
The defeat in El Clásico was Barça’s first in all competitions this season, although draws against Getafe, Mallorca and Granada saw them enter the weekend in third place in the table, behind Madrid and Girona.
Gündogan’s goal gave Barça a deserved lead at the break. But after Fermín López and Iñigo Martínez found the home team’s goal, Bellingham’s 12th and 13th goals in a spectacular season helped Los Blancos turn things around.
Xavi felt the result was an unfair reflection of the game.
“The summary of the game is very simple,” he said in his post-match press conference. “We had 60 really good minutes and scored a goal. Madrid had 20 good minutes and scored two goals.”
“But that’s football when you don’t score the second goal… We need five or six.” [chances] Land a hit. With three points they score two points. This is football and this is Madrid.”