Just a year ago, on October 28, 2023, Jude Bellingham scored a double in a clasico won 2-1 by Real Madrid at Montjuic.
Last season was historic for Jude Bellingham who became a scorer for Real Madrid and achieved the best statistical line of his young career: 23 goals and 13 assists in 41 starts. He even made his famous celebration with arms wide open in front of the Madrid public legendary and popular. But this season, things are taking a very different turn, particularly with the arrival of Kylian Mbappé and the change in system to go from a 4-4-2 to a 4-3-3 (even if Real is gradually coming back to 4-4-2 recently).
In this system, his role is much less offensive than last season and he seems restricted in his play. His talent and playing qualities are underexploited and are not used wisely. Indeed, at the same time, last season, he had already scored 13 times while he still remained silent in front of the cages after 11 matches played this season. He is no longer the epicenter of Real Madrid and is confined to a midfield role on a side which requires a lot of effort without having any particular reward.
Carlo Ancelotti declares in this regard that the role of the England international (38 caps) is closer to his number, 5, than to a number 10 role like last season. The Italian coach even speaks of “sacrifice” to highlight Jude's contribution: “We are satisfied with his work because he has done a lot on the pitch. He fights a lot, sacrifices himself… He has not scored goals like last year, but the surprise is not this year, but rather last year”… The illustration of the change in status of Jude Bellingham at Real Madrid translates perfectly with the comparison between his average positioning in the Clasico won 2-1 a year ago at Montjuic and his average positioning during the Clasico lost 4-0 at the Santiago Bernabéu recently.
On the other hand, despite the fact that it was obvious that Jude Bellingham would not have the same importance in the Real attack with the arrival of Kylian Mbappé, it is difficult to imagine that he would be so much in the shadow of the game Madrid. And yet, the season started in an exciting manner with Jude Bellingham author of a very good performance during the final of the European Super Cup won 2-0 against Atalanta Bergamo: elected man of the match and passer on the second Real Madrid goal scored by Mbappé who also started his story perfectly with the Merengue club… After the match, Jude notably declared: “It is easier to score goals if I play closer to the opposing goalkeeper, but Maybe this season I'll have to adapt, I think it's good.” Unfortunately, the rest did not go as planned. Against Barca last Saturday, Bellingham attempted just 17 passes, his lowest number since playing for Real Madrid.
