Jude Bellingham started and scored for Real Madrid on his LaLiga debut on Saturday as Los Blancos beat Athletic Club 2-0 at San Mames.
The 20-year-old midfielder, who signed from Borussia Dortmund this summer for an initial £88.5 million, was named in the line-up by coach Carlo Ancelotti for the trip to Bilbao and did not disappoint.
Bellingham produced a high-energy performance as the furthest man forward in midfield, flying into tackles, beating players and driving forward at every opportunity.
And after Rodrygo had given Real Madrid the lead in the first half, the former Birmingham City midfielder made it 2-0 as he volleyed a David Alaba cross into the ground and over Athletic goalkeeper Unai Simon.
It was very similar to a goal scored by Zinedine Zidane for Madrid and one extraordinary run down the right in the second half drew more comparisons with the French legend. Bellingham, like Zidane before him, wears the number five shirt for Real.
Veterans Luka Modric and Toni Kroos both started on the bench for Madrid, with Bellingham included in a youthful midfield quartet along with Eduardo Camavinga, Aurelien Tchouameni and Fede Valverde.
In attack, there was no recognised striker as Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo spearheaded the front line, with summer signing Joselu introduced for the final 10 minutes.
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Coach Carlo Ancelotti has played down persistent speculation that Real Madrid could sign Kylian Mbappe from Paris Saint-Germain this summer.
But Los Blancos are in talks to sign Kepa Arrizabalaga from Chelsea after Thibaut Courtois suffered a serious injury on Thursday.
And Madrid have been linked with a move for Arsenal striker Gabriel Jesus as a replacement for Karim Benzema, who moved to Saudi Arabia earlier this summer.
