After scoring a goal in his first game for Real Madrid on Saturday in a 2-0 victory over Athletic Bilbao in the opening match of the La Liga season, Jude Bellingham described the experience as “really special.”
Rodrygo Goes opened the scoring for Carlo Ancelotti’s team as they kicked off their title defense by earning a convincing victory at the San Mames. This victory came in spite of worries at both ends of the game.
As the transfer story continues, Real Madrid, who are now without their Ballon d’Or winner Karim Benzema after he left for the high-paying league in Saudi Arabia, are still heavily connected to Paris Saint-Germain striker Kylian Mbappe as a possible replacement.
Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo, both of Brazil, performed effectively together as an attack pair, and Bellingham, playing the No. 10 role at the tip of a diamond midfield and providing enough support for their efforts.
According to what Bellingham said to Real Madrid TV, “It’s really special, but the most important thing is the win.”
Andriy Lunin, the backup goalie for Los Blancos, got the start in place of Thibaut Courtois, the main keeper for Los Blancos. Courtois has a cruciate ligament injury and is expected to miss the rest of the season.
The Ukrainian was reliable, but it is possible that he may soon be passed in the pecking order by Kepa Arrizabalaga, who is the goalkeeper for Chelsea. The Spaniard is expected to come on loan, according to a number of publications.
After returning to Real Madrid from Rayo Vallecano, Fran Garcia was given the opportunity to make his second debut for the club by manager Carlo Ancelotti, who will take over as head coach of the Brazilian national team at the conclusion of this season.
However, Bellingham’s name jumped out, and the 20-year-old showed why Madrid was willing to pay more than 100 million euros (about $110 million) for him.
Rodrygo remarked, “I’m very happy to play with (Bellingham), he’s a great player, and I’m sure he’ll help us a lot this season.” Bellingham was also quoted as saying, “I’m very happy to play with him.”
Ancelotti, too, praised the England international for his strong performance in his first game.
The coach for Real Madrid remarked that his player “was very good, he has personality, and being here motivates him a lot.”
He is not your typical player; in fact, he is a tremendous player, a very important signing, and he is out of the ordinary.
Dani Carvajal nicked the ball back to Rodrygo, who then tucked it past Unai Simon at his near post to give Madrid the lead before the half-hour mark. Rodrygo’s goal put Madrid ahead.
The goalie was able to deflect David Alaba’s header into the post and stop Vinicius after the Brazilian forward made his way into the box, but Bellingham quickly added Madrid’s second goal.
The goal was scored in an unconventional manner by the England international, who volleyed Alaba’s corner kick into the ground and over Simon.
Iker Muniain, the captain of Athletic, reprimanded Bellingham for his celebratory pose, which consisted of him standing still while facing the home crowd and spreading his arms wide as if he were announcing his entry to La Liga.
“I’ve always been taught that if you try and hit the target, you can score,” said Bellingham.
“I didn’t make the best contact with it, and I was just a little bit lucky, but it worked.”
The inviting cross that the midfielder provided for Rodrygo almost resulted in another opportunity for the Brazilian, but he just missed making contact with the ball while attempting a bicycle kick.
Ernesto Valverde, a coach who had previously been at Barcelona, made three substitutions at the halftime break in an effort to get Athletic back in the game.
As the second half got underway, Real Madrid were forced to make a substitution of their own after Eder Militao suffered a knee injury and had to be replaced by Antonio Rudiger.
In the second half, Bellingham continued to show their dominance by charging forward from deep into potentially dangerous area. However, the move eventually came to an end.
The former player for Birmingham City began as he intends to continue, donning the number five jersey that had been worn by Zinedine Zidane when he played for Madrid.
Vinicius, who was playing in his first away game in La Liga since he was subjected to racial abuse by Valencia fans in May, was sporadically whistled by Athletic supporters. This was his first outing away from Valencia.
As Los Blancos cruised to an easy victory in their season opener, they replaced the forward with another player making his first appearance, Joselu, who was on loan to Madrid from Espanyol after the latter team was demoted.
Oscar de Marcos, a defender for Athletic, was quoted on Movistar as saying, “(Valverde) could have taken off 11 players.”
“In the second half, we were better, but we still couldn’t lay a glove on them.”
Real Sociedad, on the other hand, was frustrated after being held to a 1-1 draw by Girona.
Takefusa Kubo’s goal put the Basque club on front, but Artem Dovbyk’s header brought them right back into it. The Basque club qualified for the Champions League by finishing fourth in the previous season.
After Las Palmas took the lead through a penalty kick from Jonathan Viera, Mallorca was able to win a 1-1 draw away at Las Palmas thanks to Antonio Raillo.
Getafe will be the opponent for Barcelona when they begin their defense of their title on Sunday.