Jude Bellingham scores on LaLiga debut as Real Madrid beat Athletic Club in Bilbao

Jude Bellingham celebrates after scoring on his Real Madrid debut against Athletic Club in August 2023.
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Jude Bellingham started and scored for Real Madrid on his LaLiga debut on Saturday as Los Blancos beat Athletic Club 2-0 at San Mames.

The 20-year-old midfielder, who signed from Borussia Dortmund this summer for an initial £88.5 million, was named in the line-up by coach Carlo Ancelotti for the trip to Bilbao and did not disappoint.

Bellingham produced a high-energy performance as the furthest man forward in midfield, flying into tackles, beating players and driving forward at every opportunity.

And after Rodrygo had given Real Madrid the lead in the first half, the former Birmingham City midfielder made it 2-0 as he volleyed a David Alaba cross into the ground and over Athletic goalkeeper Unai Simon.

It was very similar to a goal scored by Zinedine Zidane for Madrid and one extraordinary run down the right in the second half drew more comparisons with the French legend. Bellingham, like Zidane before him, wears the number five shirt for Real.

Veterans Luka Modric and Toni Kroos both started on the bench for Madrid, with Bellingham included in a youthful midfield quartet along with Eduardo Camavinga, Aurelien Tchouameni and Fede Valverde.

In attack, there was no recognised striker as Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo spearheaded the front line, with summer signing Joselu introduced for the final 10 minutes.

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Coach Carlo Ancelotti has played down persistent speculation that Real Madrid could sign Kylian Mbappe from Paris Saint-Germain this summer.

But Los Blancos are in talks to sign Kepa Arrizabalaga from Chelsea after Thibaut Courtois suffered a serious injury on Thursday.

And Madrid have been linked with a move for Arsenal striker Gabriel Jesus as a replacement for Karim Benzema, who moved to Saudi Arabia earlier this summer.

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.