Jude Bellingham back from shoulder injury with yet another goal and Rodrygo scores twice as Real Madrid beat Cadiz 3-0 in LaLiga

Jude Bellingham celebrates after scoring for Real Madrid against Cadiz in LaLiga in November 2023.
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Real Madrid midfielder Jude Bellingham returned to action with a goal for Los Blancos' in their 3-0 win at Cadiz in LaLiga on Sunday.

The 20-year-old has been sidelined since dislocating his shoulder in the first half of Real Madrid's 0-0 draw against Rayo Vallecano earlier in November.

And although he went on to complete the 90 minutes in that match, he was an unused substitute in the Champions League win over Braga a few days later and sat out the 5-1 win over Valencia altogether.

Bellingham also missed England's games against Malta and North Macedonia in the recent international break, but was included in Madrid's squad to face Cadiz and was handed a start by coach Carlo Ancelotti on Sunday.

Madrid are missing a number of players through injury including Vinicius Junior, Aurelien Tchouameni and Eduardo Camavinga.

With those absences in mind, Ancelotti had hinted on Saturday that Bellingham could be used in a slightly different role, but the England midfielder started behind Rodrygo and Joselu in Cadiz.

The Brazilian forward fired Madrid into the lead after 14 minutes and added another in the second half to set Los Blancos on their way to a straightforward win. Both were wonderful individual efforts.

But Bellingham got in on the act as well, scoring his 14th Real Madrid goal with 74 minutes on the clock as he ran onto a Rodrygo pass and slid a left-footed finish across the goalkeeper and into the corner.

The midfielder has netted those 14 goals in just 15 appearances for Los Blancos and his return represents a big boost for the club.

Madrid's win takes them four poins clear of rivals Barcelona at the top of LaLiga, but Los Blancos will be back in second if pre-round leaders Girona beat Athletic Club on Monday.

More Jude Bellingham stories

Jude Bellingham ahead of Zinedine Zidane and Luis Figo? A former team-mate of the Real Madrid legends has explained how the England midfielder has the edge on the Frenchman and the Portuguese.

Meanwhile, it has been claimed that Bellingham rejected Manchester United because the Red Devils were unable to guarantee him first-team football at Old Trafford.

And following his heroics in El Clasico for Real Madrid recently, the England midfielder has been compared to Los Blancos legend Cristiano Ronaldo.

Ben Hayward
Weekend editor

Ben Hayward is a European football writer and Tottenham Hotspur fan with over 15 years’ experience, he has covered games all over the world - including three World Cups, several Champions League finals, Euros, Copa America - and has spent much of that time in Spain. Ben speaks English and Spanish, currently dividing his time between Barcelona and London, covering all the big talking points of the weekend on FFT: he’s also written several list features and interviewed Guglielmo Vicario for the magazine.

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