Jude Bellingham was right! Stats prove Real Madrid STILL didn't run as much as Arsenal in disastrous Champions League loss despite England midfielder's clear warning before kick-off

Bellingham issued a warning to his Madrid teammates about the need to run more, but also with intelligence — and the numbers have backed him up. Following their Champions League defeat to Arsenal in the quarter-final, the statistics at the final whistle lent weight to Bellingham’s pre-match remarks.

Following the first leg at the Emirates Stadium last week, it was revealed that Madrid ran a staggering 12.7 km less than Arsenal. Ahead of the return leg, Bellingham shed light on the stat while speaking to the reporters.

He stated: “It’s true that if you run more, you have more of a chance. You know, if you run 14km less than the opponent, it’s like playing with a player less. Yes, it impacts your game. But the same thing happened last year: we didn’t run the most and we won the Champions League. We have to know what it means to run from one side to the other. We have to know how to run. Tomorrow we’ll want to run much more, and hopefully we’ll have a better plan to do it.”

In the first leg in London, Los Blancos covered a total distance of 101.2 km. While they managed to improve that figure at the Santiago Bernabeu — adding 6.3 km to reach 107.5 km — they were still outworked by Arsenal. According to Cadena COPE, Mikel Arteta’s side ran a total of 116 km in the return leg, outpacing Los Blancos by a notable 8.5 km in their own backyard.

The 21-year-old Englishman will return to action on Sunday, April 20, when Real Madrid take on an in-form Athletic Bilbao side at the Bernabeu. Madrid are currently four points behind league leaders Barcelona with just seven games to go.