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Jude Bellingham matches scoring feat of Cristiano Ronaldo at Real Madrid.
Jude Bellingham has made an impressive start at Real Madrid, becoming the first player since Cristiano Ronaldo to score in each of his first three games with the team. The 20-year-old midfielder, who was signed for £103 million from Borussia Dortmund, scored the game-winning goal in Real Madrid’s 1-0 victory against Celta Vigo.
Bellingham made an immediate impact at Real Madrid, scoring in his debut in the opening-day win over Athletic Club. He followed that with a brace in a 3-1 victory at Almeria. His goal in the Celta Vigo game marked his fourth goal for the team since joining.
Notably, Bellingham’s goal-scoring prowess has improved since he switched to a more proactive midfield role at Dortmund. In his first two seasons in the Bundesliga, he scored only four goals in 62 games. However, last season, he scored 14 goals across all competitions, including eight goals in the Bundesliga, marking a significant improvement in his goal-scoring rate.
His ability in the final third has even persuaded Carlo Ancelotti that a goalscorer is not required at this stage to replace Karim Benzema, with the Italian saying before Bellingham’s latest goal: “We believe that the arrival of Bellingham covers the absence of Karim.
“He is a serious, mature boy with a lot of quality. What he is doing is not surprising to those of us who know him, what is surprising is that he is only 20 years old.”
Toni Kroos has echoed Ancelotti’s sentiments about Bellingham, saying of the Englishman: “It was indicated in the preparation, where he did really well. He’s integrated surprisingly well in such a short time.
“I have a very good feeling about him because I think he’s incredibly mature for his age – not just mentally, that he’s already very far, but also with the way he plays football. He’s very, very far, doesn’t do hara-kiri things, is always clear in his actions, works, tries to play to his strengths to the full.
“A lot of other people at that age still make a lot of hara-kiri, a lot of technical and tactical mistakes. You don’t see that much with him. So far I have to say that he is already an absolute asset to our game. That means something, because we’re not a completely blind team. The fact that a 20-year-old enriches us right from the start is a good sign.”