Has Jude Bellingham lost his goalscoring touch for Real Madrid?
The England international is yet to score for Los Blancos this season.
Real Madrid fans are now seeing a different version of Jude Bellingham this season, who is way different from the previous campaign.
This time around, however, the goals have begun to dry up. He is now the left-sided No. 8 that he may have always been meant to be – an all-around, all-action, box-to-box player with versatility. Bellingham may no longer have as many goals, but it is still just as effective—it works in another manner.
Will this twenty-year-old truly be up to the task? Could this Borussia Dortmund-raised boy from Birmingham really play for the world’s best sporting club? Would he even start in midfield with so many options?
The responses to each of these queries after his arrival last season were unequivocal. Bellingham performed frequently and in a manner that few could have predicted. Following the departure of Karim Benzema for the Saudi Pro League, Bellingham was positioned directly behind Vinicius Jr. and Rodrygo.
Bellingham, who had only once before scored ten goals in a season, emerged as Los Blancos’ main goal scorer this past season. After smashing records, he scored a brace to flip the El Clasico around and kept scoring. It wasn’t difficult to envisage him scoring 40 goals for the campaign at one point.
Has Bellingham lost his goalscoring touch?
However, this season it was bound to happen. The former Dortmund midfielder is yet to score a goal this campaign. There were concerns about why Bellingham’s scoring had abruptly dropped.
This has mainly been because of the arrival of Kylian Mbappe. Now the midfielders crash the box less often when Real Madrid already have a player there waiting for Vinicius or Rodrygo to provide a cross or cut back in the opposition box.
Mbappe has scored one goal in the Champions League and five in LaLiga. Across all competitions, Vinicius has three goals and four assists. Not to be outdone, yet still strangely overlooked, Rodrygo has three goals and two assists.
As for Jude Bellingham, he may only be waiting for his opportunity to strike, given his penchant to perform when the group needs him most in prominent moments.
Bellingham always seems to step up in big games; there’s something about it. The likelihood is that he will be there for Real Madrid in whatever situation.
Bellingham is now more of a midfielder than acting as a second striker
Bellingham plays more in midfield now. He is now more of a provider who creates chances and links up with forwards. In terms of crucial passes made and dribbles completed, he ranks fourth at the club. Surprisingly, he has had fewer occasions leading to ball losses than Real Madrid’s offensive trio (Mbappe, Vinicius & Rodrygo). Only Luka Modric has a higher pass completion percentage for the Los Blancos than the England international.
The defensive stats appear impressive as well. Jude Bellingham leads the squad in tackles per ninety minutes and ranks third in interceptions made. Want a player who is all action? Bellingham is the person to contact.
Bellingham is therefore not anymore a striker. Maybe, though, he was never at all. Jude Bellingham is now a midfielder and is still a tremendous asset, it turns out.
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