Jude Bellingham has sent a classy message to Erling Haaland after Real Madrid beat Manchester City 3-1 in the Champions League on Wednesday night.
The LaLiga titans went into the clash 3-2 up from the first leg after Bellingham's late goal at the Etihad Stadium last week.
And Real were a class above City last night, with Kylian Mbappe netting a brilliant hat-trick to send his team through to the next round.
Haaland was an unused substitute for Pep Guardiola's men, having picked up an injury during City's 4-0 victory over Newcastle at the weekend.
Jude Bellingham helped Real Madrid knock Man City out of the Champions League on Wednesday night
REUTERS
And though Guardiola's side were chasing a goal, the Spaniard resisted the temptation to bring his talisman on from the bench.
Bellingham played with Haaland at Borussia Dortmund and now, speaking to TNT Sports, has wished his old team-mate all the best for the future.
"You always want to play teams at their best and when you see he [Erling Haaland] is not in the team you obviously hope it is nothing serious," he said.
"He is a good mate of mine and I hope it is not too bad.
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"You play against what you are up against and I thought we managed it well today.
"They still have other players that can step in and cause damage."
Real were always the favourites to beat City, especially given the inconsistent form of Guardiola's men this term.
And Bellingham was pleased that his team were able to prevail, with the England international adding: "It was a good evening and a good performance from us.
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Jude Bellingham has sent a classy message to Erling Haaland after Real Madrid beat Manchester City 3-1 in the Champions League on Wednesday night
REUTERS
"It was a really enjoyable game to play in. The most important thing for us was the defensive side of the game.
"We knew that once we boxed that off we could attack with more freedom and that was the key tonight and in the other game."
Real boss Carlo Ancelotti, meanwhile, was equally pleased.
"Our goal was to be good defensively. We were compact," stated the Italian.
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"We have a lot of quality up front but we were not always able to defend our box.
"In these two games we have been able to do this. When you have that foundation you are able to build out from it.
"You never know in football. Every little detail can change the dynamic of a game.
"We were able to control the game well and scored the second and the third goals but we were always defending well.
Kylian Mbappe scored a sublime hat-trick as Real Madrid knocked Man City out of the Champions League
REUTERS
"It takes time to defend in a low block and the players understood that.
"They understood that they had to work collectively in defence."
