Struggling Real Madrid manager Arbeloa offers firm support for Mbappe

Arbeloa, facing intense scrutiny himself as Real Madrid appears destined to end the season without silverware, insisted that Mbappe had no reason to blame himself, highlighting that beyond netting goals in each quarter-final match, the forward had "put in maximum effort defensively."

The Spanish club suffered a 4-3 defeat in an exhilarating second-leg encounter against Bayern Munich, who advanced 6-4 overall, following the dismissal of Eduardo Camavinga that left them with 10 players in the 86th minute.

Bayern added two more strikes following the sending-off of the French star, igniting backlash against Mbappe.

Yet Arbeloa dismissed such views entirely during his pre-match media briefing on Monday.

"Kylian has done nothing wrong in my eyes," Arbeloa declared, with his team set to face Alaves at home on Tuesday.

"He performed at peak level, finding the net in both fixtures and posing a persistent danger to their backline.

"Defensively, he committed fully and toiled tirelessly.

"His showing in that game left me completely content," the 43-year-old concluded.

Mbappe, who has netted 40 times across all tournaments in his second year at the club, must postpone his ambition of clinching the Champions League for at least another season.

This goal motivated his transfer to Madrid from Paris Saint-Germain, the French powerhouse that deepened his disappointment by securing the continent's top club honour last year.

Arbeloa's position for the upcoming campaign remains uncertain, having taken over from Xabi Alonso earlier this term, especially as rivals Barcelona hold a nine-point advantage in LaLiga with seven games left.

Nevertheless, he avoided discussing his prospects beyond noting they lay beyond his control, while asserting that Real required no drastic overhaul to rebound next season.