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.”