Real Madrid will be without the services of Jude Bellingham for the first leg of their last-16 Champions League contest.
Los Blancos booked their spot in the next stage of the European competition courtesy of a 3-1 success over Manchester City in the second leg of their knockout round playoff, which secured a 6-3 aggregate victory.
Bellingham was again a key contributor for Carlo Ancelotti's side on the night, but the booking that he picked up in the latter stages of the first half against Man City has seen him hit with a one-game Champions League suspension.
The ex-Birmingham City youngster picked up a yellow card for a late challenge on Phil Foden, and he will now miss Real Madrid's last-16 first leg, with the tie set to be against either Atletico Madrid or Bayer Leverkusen.
Aurelien Tchouameni, Antonio Rudiger and Eduardo Camavinga had also been walking a tightrope ahead of the next match, but only Bellingham was booked out of those in danger of missing the last-16 first leg.
Bellingham banned for Real Madrid's next Champions League match
Bellingham is also currently banned in La Liga, with the England international hit with a two-game suspension after the red card that he was handed in last weekend's 1-1 draw with Osasuna.
The 21-year-old will therefore be banned against both Girona and Real Betis in La Liga, but he can play in the first leg of Real Madrid's Copa del Rey semi-final against Real Sociedad next week.
Bellingham has again been in excellent form for Real Madrid during the 2024-25 campaign, scoring 11 goals and registering 10 assists in 34 appearances in all competitions.
Meanwhile, since arriving at Bernabeu from Borussia Dortmund in July 2023, the Englishman has 34 goals and 23 assists in 77 matches for Real Madrid, including seven goals and eight assists in 21 Champions League games for the reigning champions.
Bellingham: 'Real Madrid have sent out a message'
Kylian Mbappe scored a hat trick against Man City on Wednesday night, and Bellingham has said that Real Madrid have sent out a message to the rest of the teams in the competition with their performance in the knockout round playoffs.
"It was one of the best games we've played. We were very comfortable from the start and the lead from the first leg goal allowed us to play like that," Bellingham told reporters.
"Mbappe is very special, everyone knows that and he never stops proving it. He's a better person than a player and we're going to benefit from his goals.
"Everyone should be scared after what we've seen. We had the same confidence from the start and we didn't care about the opposition. The amount of details in the matches meant we didn't sit back, we put on a magnificent performance."
The draw for the last-16 stage of the Champions League will take place on Friday. body check tags ::
