Jude Bellingham matches Cristiano Ronaldo feat with brace for Real Madrid at Almeria
The England midfielder followed up his fine debut against Athletic Club with another superb showing for Los Blancos on Saturday
Jude Bellingham followed up his excellent debut for Real Madrid last weekend with an even better display against Almeria in LaLiga on Saturday.
The England midfielder scored a fine goal against Athletic Club in Bilbao last weekend in an all-action display at San Mames, but the 20-year-old eclipsed that performance with two goals and an assist in a 3-1 win away to Almeria on Saturday.
Almeria took the lead early on in the game, but Bellingham levelled on 19 minutes after pouncing on a loose ball in the area and firing in off the post.
That goal was given after a lengthy check for a possible offside and also a possible handball as the ball appeared to come off the midfielder's upper arm before he scored.
Toni Kroos then saw a strike ruled out for offside, but the German floated a perfect pass into the area for Bellingham to head home the second five minutes into the second half and the Englishman teed up Vinicius Junior in the area for a third later on to finish with two goals and an assist in his second match as a Madrid player.
He becomes the first Real Madrid player to score in his first two competitive matches since Cristiano Ronaldo and afterwards, paid tribute to his brother Jobe, who was on target twice for Sunderland earlier in the day.
"Best motivation I could get watching @j_bellingham get his first pro goals," he wrote on Twitter. "Another hard earned win, Hala Madrid!
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Best motivation I could get watching @j_bellingham get his first pro goals. Another hard earned win, Hala Madrid!🤍⚽️⚽️ pic.twitter.com/oo6mXYuXT2August 19, 2023
Jobe, who is 17 years old and also started his career at Birmingham City, moved to Sunderland in the summer and scored twice in a 2-1 win over Rotherham United earlier on Saturday.
Older brother Jude is still only 20 and has now been named Man of the Match in both of his games at Real Madrid so far.
"I think I'm 10 times better than the player I was last season," he told Real Madrid TV. "With these players, these team-mates, I'm learning. The level here is very high."
More Real Madrid stories
Coach Carlo Ancelotti has played down persistent speculation that Real Madrid could sign Kylian Mbappe from Paris Saint-Germain this summer.
The Italian hailed England midfielder Jude Bellingham after the England midfielder scored on his debut in a 2-0 win away to Athletic Club in LaLiga last weekend.
Meanwhile, Madrid have been linked with a move for Arsenal striker Gabriel Jesus as a replacement for Karim Benzema, who left for Saudi Arabia earlier this summer.
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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