Real Madrid fell to a fifth defeat of the season against Athletic Club on Wednesday night, and it was once again another sad performance from Kylian Mbappe, who missed a second penalty in eight days at San Mames. Patience with the French forward is fast running out.
Not least from his teammates. Jude Bellingham did all he could to drag Los Blancos back into it in Bilbao, scoring the equaliser, and bursting a gut for the cause. He picked up a late booking for dissent, another sign of his frustration.
That was in clear evidence too, when Mbappe tried to take on Dani Vivian on the left side of the box, but was muscled off the ball for a goal-kick. After that action, Bellingham was furiously gesturing and seemingly cursing, with an accusatory look back at the Frenchman.
Jude Bellingham’s reactions to Mbappe’s mistakes are weird. Look at this pic.twitter.com/w0AuioZ46J
— Kuame Oliver (@KuameOliver_) December 5, 2024
It is only natural for tension to be high during games even between teammates, although Bellingham does have a track record of being incredibly demanding of his teammates. Again, this is not unusual for top players. Those demands, both from themselves and their teammates, can drag them forward, but can also cause friction.
