Jude Bellingham has well and truly established himself as a bonafide member of Real Madrid's new breed of "Galacticos". To add to his growing list of achievements with the club, he broke a Champions League record on Wednesday night by becoming the first player to score in each of his first four appearances for Los Blancos in their group stage match against Napoli.
Real Madrid were stunned inside the first ten minutes when Napoli took the lead via Giovanni Simeone. However, the hosts kept their cool and Brazilian youngster Rodrygo found the equaliser almost immediately with a confident strike into the top corner of the net.
Then, it was time for Bellingham to make history in the 22nd minute. David Alaba picked out the English midfielder with a long-distance cross and Bellingham did not hesitate to head the ball past Napoli goalkeeper Alex Meret.
This gave Real Madrid the 2-1 advantage, but the visitors fought back with an equaliser of their own just after the half-time break via André-Frank Zambo Anguissa.
The match seemed like it will end in a draw, but anyone who has played against Real Madrid knows that the match is long and nothing is decided until the final whistle is blown, especially in the Champions League.
True enough, 19-year-old Nico Paz decided to take advantage of the rare opportunity given to him by manager Carlo Ancelotti by firing a strike in the 84th minute to give the home team the lead once more.
Then, it was Bellingham's turn to assist Joselu for the home team's fourth goal four minutes into stoppage time. The 4-2 victory was sealed, and Real Madrid have also been guaranteed their position as Group C winners with one match remaining before heading into the knockout stage.
Fantastic UCL performance from the team. What did you put in these, @adidasfootball? 😮💨#HalaMadrid 🤍 pic.twitter.com/yirPgFp2EU
— Jude Bellingham (@BellinghamJude) November 29, 2023
Bellingham continues to write history
After having already been guaranteed a spot in the next round, Real Madrid entered the match against Napoli with a relaxed demeanor despite having almost half the starting lineup sidelined due to injury.
Nevertheless, Bellingham did not miss the opportunity to score his 15th goal in only 16 appearances for the club. This comes just days after he surpassed the record held by the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Alfredo di Stefano of 13 goals in 15 matches.
Manager Carlo Ancelotti had nothing but praise for his star signing of the season: "He's spectacular in getting into the box, he comes into the box like a motorbike."
He added: "It's surprising because nobody could have imagined such fast adaptation here, to this club and the football he is showing. He surprises the fans, team mates and even rivals."
Bellingham's move for 103 million euros (£88 million) from Borussia Dortmund over the summer has proven to be yet another sound investment made by club president Florentino Perez. In just 16 matches since joining Real Madrid, he has already scored more goals than he did for his entire 2022-23 campaign with the Bundesliga side, where he scored 14 goals in all competitions.
Heading into the final matchday of the Champions League Group Stage, Real Madrid will be looking for a perfect record when they go up against Group C bottom-dwellers Union Berlin. Ancelotti will be relieved to have already qualified comfortably into the next round so that they can focus on the tight La Liga race. Real Madrid have just regained the top spot on the table, but they are tied on points with Girona and both Atletico Madrid and FC Barcelona are not far behind.
Meanwhile, Italian champions Napoli may have lost against the 14-time Champions League winners, but they are still in second place in Group C. They are three points in front of Sporting Braga, making their final encounter the one to watch out for in the group.
