By Sean Walsh
Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti has revealed he substituted Jude Bellingham in their 2-2 draw with Bayern Munich on Tuesday as the midfielder was suffering from cramp and still working his way back from injury.
Bellingham's enjoyed a whirlwind first season at Madrid but put in a quiet performance in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final with Bayern at the Allianz Arena. Leroy Sane and Harry Kane scored for the Bavarians either side of a Vinicius Junior brace.
The England international was hauled off after 75 minutes along with Toni Kroos, who assisted Los Blancos' first goal of the evening, and the duo were replaced by Luka Modric and Brahim Diaz.
In his post-match press conference, Madrid boss Ancelotti was asked to explain these changes.
"We needed just a little more energy," Ancelotti said. "Kroos played a very good game and Bellingham had cramp, but I had fresh legs and something had to change. I have tools on the bench and I have to take advantage of them."
Bellingham was a minor doubt heading into the first leg with Bayern having been rested for Madrid's 1-0 win at Real Sociedad in La Liga last week due to a stomach problem.
Regarding Bellingham, Ancelotti added: "He will get back to his best performances. He was injured, that affected him, but today he wasn't at his best. Wednesday [the day of the second leg] he will be at 100% again."
Madrid did well to keep out Bayern in the first half of Tuesday's encounter but they were opened up in the second, conceding their two goals almost immediately after the break.
Ancelotti said: "The result is good. We could have done better. Our best moment was at the beginning of the second half, when they scored twice. Bayern are very dangerous. They were at their best, and we weren’t. We have time to improve next week."
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This article was originally published on 90min.com as Carlo Ancelotti explains why he substituted Jude Bellingham in Bayern Munich draw.
