Jude Bellingham has been slated in the Spanish press as his goal-shy reason for Real Madrid continues.
England star Bellingham has failed to score in his last nine games for Los Blancos, who’ve had teething problems fitting new signing Kylian Mbappe into their attack. For Saturday’s trip to Celta Vigo, manager Carlo Ancelotti intriguingly opted for a 3-4-2-1 formation, with Bellingham and Vinicius Junior flanking Mbappe.
A brilliant long-range strike from Mbappe put Madrid in the lead on 20 minutes, his sixth goal in nine La Liga games. As the first half wore on, though, Bellingham cut a frustrated figure and lost his temper at Vinicius Jr.
The favourite to win this year’s Ballon d’Or – which will be handed out next Monday – chose to shoot at goal instead of passing to Bellingham, who was unmarked at the back post. The 21-year-old lambasted Vinicius and was even angrier after half-time when Celta responded through Williot Swedberg.
Vinicius made amends by scoring the winning goal in the 66th minute, as Real came away with a laboured 2-1 victory which keeps them three points behind arch rivals Barcelona ahead of next Sunday’s El Clasico. Bellingham might have some extra motivation after reading Marca’s player ratings.
A passage from the Spanish newspaper read: “The image of the Madrid number 5 celebrating goals by opening his arms became a common sight. The Bernabeu turned it into a ritual. Now he has ‘crossed his arms’ and has not opened them again since May 14, the date of his last goal with Real Madrid. He is berating himself about the goals and cannot settle that score he has.”
Bellingham is hoping to score his first club goal of the season sooner than Saturday’s game against Barca, as Ancelotti’s side welcome the Englishman’s former club, Borussia Dortmund, in the Champions League on Tuesday. Ancelotti, however, isn’t concerned about Bellingham’s lack of goals, despite setting off like a rocket last season.
“We are satisfied with Bellingham’s work. He works hard on the field, competes, fights and makes sacrifices,” the Madrid boss explained in his pre-match press conference.
“He hasn’t scored like last year, but that was unexpected. We’ve always managed to score and will continue to because we have a lot of talent up front. Bellingham’s role is more important than the goals he scored last year.”
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