Jude Bellingham played a little deeper than usual and slightly to the right, but with freedom to move around the pitch, always with precision and giving his all. He had one of his best games of the season, just one day after it was confirmed that he will undergo surgery after the World Cup and will be out for three months with a shoulder injury.
Xabi Alonso converts Bellingham
Xabi Alonso already said it on the day he was presented: he sees Bellingham as a pure midfielder, and that is where the Englishman excelled. The system proposed by the Basque coach, with three center backs and two wingbacks who run the entire length of the field, allowed the Englishman to not have to cover as much ground as he usually does. Along with Güler in the creative role and Valverde as his wingman, the Englishman made the midfield his own with his power, quality, and elegance.
He showed qualities that we saw in his first season, not so much in the course of this last one, with superior ball control and dribbling, shaking off his opponents like the best kid on the playground, and finding space to make the best decision.
Bellingham breaks the deadlock
After a first half hour in which Real Madrid were infinitely superior to their opponents, the Austrians stepped up, knowing that in the other game, Al-Hilal were winning and they were out. In one of those attacks with more heart than football, Xabi Alonso’s side stole the ball, and three-quarters of the way into Real Madrid’s defensive third, the Englishman received the ball, looked up and threaded a pass through the middle to leave Vinicius one-on-one with Gonzalo, a superiority that the Brazilian resolved with aplomb, but it was Bellingham who had set him up with an incredible pass.
More impact on the game
Xabi Alonso continues to mull over the starting eleven and the system he wants to implement with his players. Yesterday’s line-up, with Tchouaméni between the center backs, might have seemed defensive at first glance, but nothing could be further from the truth. It was an attacking team, more compact, more pressing, more dominant, which allowed the English international to move around the center as he pleased, leaning more towards the right wing, as Valverde was more central—in attack ahead of Güler, in defense behind the Turk—and with many options to play the ball, as the wing-backs opened up the field, the forwards were more central, and the two midfielders created superiority so that Bellingham could always make the best decision.
Shoulder surgery
It was already known, but now it’s official. Jude Bellingham will undergo surgery after the Club World Cup: after a season and a half of avoiding shoulder surgery, the footballer has had enough and will have to undergo an operation that will leave him out of action for three months. He will not wear the white shirt again until next October, so it is expected that he will not be back to his best until November. Given his role and influence at Real Madrid, this is a significant loss, but for now, it seems that Xabi Alonso will have the entire squad at his disposal throughout the season.
Jude Bellingham was one of the best players for Real Madrid, who played the first half hour of the match as they haven’t done in years, showing solidarity, lightning speed, and strength in defense. The Englishman was given enough freedom and support to show his best side in white.