Jude Bellingham suffered a horror cut as Real Madrid slumped to a costly defeat in LaLiga.
The England midfielder was left with blood pouring down his face from a nasty wound just above his right eye after being caught by an accidental elbow to the face from Borja Iglesias as the pair challenged for the ball during the second half of Celta Vigo’s stunning 2-0 victory at the Santiago Bernabeu on Sunday night.
Bellingham received treatment on the hour mark and was quickly patched up off the pitch before being shown a yellow card by Alejandro Quintero Gonzalez for returning to the field of play before getting permission from the referee.
He ended up playing the full 90 minutes, but could not prevent Madrid from suffering a shock loss that piles more pressure on under-fire head coach Xabi Alonso ahead of a high-profile Champions League showdown at home to Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City on Wednesday night.
Los Blancos lost Eder Militao to injury and saw fellow defenders Fran Garcia and Alvaro Carreras both sent off in the second half against Celta Vigo as they finished the game with nine men, while unused substitute Endrick was also shown a late red card for his protestations on the bench to heap more misery on Madrid.
Sweden winger Williot Swedberg notched both second-half goals for Claudio Giraldez’s Celta Vigo, whose first away win at the Bernabeu for 20 years saw them rise up to 10th in LaLiga.
Madrid, meanwhile, remain second and four points behind leaders and arch-rivals Barcelona, who beat Real Betis 5-3 in an eight-goal epic at the Estadio La Cartuja on Saturday with Ferran Torres notching a first-half hat-trick before a first LaLiga goal for youngster Roony Bardghji and penalty from Lamine Yamal.
Villarreal are now only a point adrift of Madrid in third after notching a sixth LaLiga win in a row at home to 10-man Getafe on Saturday and have also played one game less.
Things don’t get easier for Madrid, who next play host to a City side riding a three-match winning streak after brushing aside Sunderland 3-0 in a league phase clash that is a repeat of last season’s knockout play-off tie.
