MADRID: Real Madrid manager Xabi Alonso praised Jude Bellingham’s impressive performance after the sensational midfielder emerged as the winning hero in the Clasico victory over Barcelona 2-1 earlier this morning.

Bellingham scored Madrid’s second goal and also assisted Kylian Mbappe’s opening goal, completing a perfect week after also scoring the only goal in beating Juventus 1-0 in the Champions League last week.

The 22-year-old is just recovering from shoulder surgery which saw him sidelined for a long time at the start of the season, as well as being left out of Thomas Tuchel’s England squad last month.

“We saw his quality against Juventus, today and against Getafe last week – three very good matches for him,” said Alonso.

“At first he needed some time to get into the rhythm, but now his performance is even better than we expected after the last international break, when he stayed with us and not the national team.

“Jude is a player who plays based on feelings and relationships with his teammates, which is why he has been able to play so well lately.”

His goal against Juventus was his first at the Santiago Bernabeu since April and this morning’s victory extended Madrid’s five-point lead over defending champions Barcelona.

Before the match, much of the focus was on Lamine Yamal’s controversial comments accusing Madrid of “stealing” and “complaining”, but Alonso insisted his squad was motivated enough to end a run of four consecutive Clasico defeats.

“The team is really motivated. We talked before the match how important this match was, not just because of the three points,” explained Alonso.

“But because of where we come from, because we want to show a good game, deserve to win and I’m very happy for the players, they need this feeling, the confidence to be able to win a big match like the Clasico.”

Madrid actually scored three goals that were disallowed for offside but still clearly dominated Alonso’s debut in the Clasico.

Vinicius Jr also stood out but raised questions when he got angry after being substituted.

“I don’t want to lose focus on the main thing. Vini contributes a lot, just like the other players,” said Alonso.

“It’s an important victory and honestly, it could have been bigger.”

MANCHESTER: Manchester City’s venomous striker, Erling Haaland, is clearly on a different level.

He scored in 12 consecutive matches for club and country, helping City overcome their away form in European competition.

Haaland continues to make other clubs in Europe jealous with his sharpness in front of goal.

Captain Bernardo Silva also scored a goal late in the first half as Villarreal, known as ‘The Yellow Submarine’, sank at home in this morning’s Champions League action.

The victory allowed City to extend their unbeaten run to nine games in all competitions and Pep Guardiola’s squad are currently in top form.

The last time City won a Champions League match away from home was almost 13 months ago, against Slovakian club Slovan Bratislava.

Since then they have lost four times and drawn once – a record that does not match their status as former European champions two and a half years ago.

Haaland has now scored 15 goals in all competitions this season and the season has not yet reached the end of October.

By scoring in 12 consecutive games, Haaland also equaled the record of legendary striker Cristiano Ronaldo.

The achievement adds to the excitement ahead of Sunday’s match against Aston Villa, where Haaland has the opportunity to break the Portuguese star’s record.

LISBON: Cristiano Ronaldo became the all-time leading scorer in World Cup qualifying after scoring twice as Portugal drew 2-2 with Hungary early this morning.

The 40-year-old striker scored his 40th and 41st goals in the qualifying campaign, surpassing the record set by former Guatemalan striker Carlos Ruiz, who amassed 39 goals between 1998 and 2016.

The five-time Ballon d’Or winner equalised for Portugal in the 22nd minute from a pass from Nelson Semedo.

Ronaldo again found the finish before the break after receiving a pass from Nuno Mendes to put Portugal 2-1 ahead in the first half.

However, Hungary came back to equalise in injury time, delaying Portugal’s bid to qualify early for next year’s World Cup finals in the United States, Mexico and Canada.

Ronaldo, who is also the record holder for the highest international scorer with 143 goals, is now eyeing his sixth appearance at the World Cup.

LONDON: Former Liverpool midfielder Steven Gerrard has rejected the chance to return to manage Rangers for a second time after the Scottish club faced a performance crisis, British media reported yesterday.

The 45-year-old former England captain was previously seen as a leading candidate to replace Russell Martin, who was sacked last week after just four months in charge.

However, according to reports, after holding positive discussions with the club’s management, Gerrard felt the time was not right for him to return to Ibrox.

Martin was sacked after Rangers won just one of their first seven Scottish Premier League games this season.

Gerrard coached Rangers from 2018 to 2021 and ended Celtic’s dominance when they won the 2020-21 league title before leaving the club to become manager of Aston Villa.

He then continued his career in Saudi Arabia with Al-Ettifaq, but resigned in January.

Other candidates linked with the Rangers manager’s job include Hearts coach Derek McInnes, former Rangers player Kevin Muscat and former Everton boss Sean Dyche.

MANCHESTER: Pep Guardiola has been advised to leave Manchester City by one of his most trusted individuals.

Guardiola’s former performance analyst, Carles Planchart, said the manager needed to take a break to ‘regenerate himself’ before looking for a ‘new project’.

The pair worked together at Barcelona, ​​Bayern Munich and Manchester City before Planchart left his role last season.

As someone who has worked with Guardiola for 18 years, Planchart believes that Guardiola needs to step back for a while if he wants to extend his coaching career.

Guardiola’s contract expires in 2027 and he has previously expressed his desire to take a break after leaving the Etihad Stadium – perhaps for up to ’15 years’, an indication that the daily pressures of being a manager are starting to become a burden like what happened to Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool.

“It’s a personal decision he has to make. I think a project should last five or six years, no more than that,” Planchart told SPORT.

“But not just for him, but for everyone. After that, you need to regenerate yourself. As a friend, I would advise him to find a new project because he still has a long future.

“The main reason he’s been at City all this time is because they treat us like family, we’re allowed to work as if we were at home. He didn’t feel that way at Barca or Bayern.

“He was a football fanatic. His life was on the pitch. He was a genius, an inventor.

“His main strength is how he creates football. The hardest thing in life is to create; others just imitate. He is number one in this.”