Real Madrid midfielder Dani Ceballos has taken the blame for their loss to Osasuna on Saturday evening. The 29-year-old took the blame squarely on his shoulders after giving the ball away in the lead up to the winning goal for Los Rojillo.
Ceballos was sent on with seven minutes remaining by Alvaro Arbeloa to look for a winner at El Sadar. However Ceballos played a loose pass that was intercepted in stoppage time, and eventually ended up with Raul Garcia de Haro finishing between Raul Asencio and Trent Alexander-Arnold. Following the match, Ceballos put out a message on social media, noting ‘I assume my responsibility’.
Ceballos ruled out with injury
The unfortunate part is that Ceballos will not have a chance to make ammends in the near future. The ex-Betis and Arsenal man has been ruled out with a hamstring tear that could keep him out until April in the worst of cases. It leaves Arbeloa somewhat short of resources in the middle of the pitch, with Jude Bellingham also out of action.
Image via La Liga
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Arbeloa’s explanations after Osasuna
Beyond introducing Ceballos, Arbeloa has come in for heavy criticism for his changes at El Sadar, taking of Fede Valverde following his excellent assist. After the match he declared that the Uruguayan had been playing through injury for some time, and he did not want to risk him.
The Real Madrid manager also noted that the referee might have given a foul for his side before Ceballos gave the ball away – although Los Blancos did regain possession again after that, dictating a new phase of play. In his view, Real Madrid failed to move the ball with the necessary tempo to break Osasuna down too. On Wednesday, Real Madrid are back in action against Benfica in the return leg of their Champions League play-off.
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