A couple of weeks earlier, Giovanni Di Lorenzo had perhaps the best view of Jude Bellingham’s burgeoning greatness. Not from his perspective, admittedly; there was little enjoyable about it as, close as he was, he was also powerless, backtracking as Bellingham slalomed through the Napoli defence, scoring for Real Madrid after a mesmeric solo run.
If the Napoli captain was determined to avert a repeat, he did when Bellingham surged clear. The methodology was agricultural, the cost a penalty for a scything challenge. Neither approach worked, each brought a goal, the second a Harry Kane spot kick. But if one of the world’s best right-backs struggled to find an answer to the question of how to stop Bellingham, he was not alone.
