Bellingham enjoys dream Real Madrid debut as England star scores in La Liga win
Jude Bellingham endured a dream start to his Real Madrid career as he produced a Man of the Match performance in Los Blancos' 2-0 win over Athletic Club in Bilbao.
Carlo Ancelotti named a youthful-looking side for Real's La Liga curtain-raiser, with nine of the starting XI aged 25 or under. Only David Alaba and Dani Carvajal were above that age bracket as Luka Modric, Joselu, Toni Kroos and Antonio Rudiger all began on the bench.
Real opened the scoring in the 29th minute at San Mames through Rodrygo as he latched on to Carvajal's pass before slotting the ball home beyond Spain goalkeeper Unai Simon. It was the perfect start from Ancelotti's side, who doubled their advantage seven minutes later.
Bellingham was the man to score Real's second with an inch-perfect finish from Alaba's corner. The 20-year-old kept his head over the ball as the cross looped to the far post, before hitting an effort into the ground and over Simon to hand Los Blancos a two-goal lead in the Basque Country.
The second-half proved to be rather uneventful as Real controlled the match, with Kroos and Modric coming on in an attempt to see out the win. Fellow substitute Joselu was also introduced to the action and he almost made an immediate impact in the 83rd-minute but his tame shot was saved by Simon.
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Real managed to hold out to secure a comfortable victory away from home as Bellingham marked his historic Los Blancos debut with a goal and three points. The ex-Birmingham midfielder joined Real in a deal worth £88million plus add-ons back in June, with Bellingham penning a six-year deal in Madrid.
Jude Bellingham endured a dream start to his Real Madrid career (Getty Images)Explaining why he decided to leave Borussia Dortmund for Real, he said: "Money is not a thing for me. I don't think about money at all when I make these kind of decisions. I never have, I never will. I play the game purely out of love.
"It wasn't a case of the other teams are bad or they weren't good, it is just that, for me, Madrid are the greatest... The respect that England has for Real Madrid is so high. Their pedigree in Europe is the best - simple as. I will just be like a sponge around them, trying to steal everything they have got. They will probably be annoyed with me after the first week or so, but I can't wait to learn from those guys."
Bellingham impressed for Los Blancos during their pre-season tour of the United States and scored in a 2-0 win over Manchester United last month, lobbing Andre Onana in the process. His performances out in North America earned him a start for their opening competitive outing.
Jude Bellingham scored for Real Madrid at San Mames (Getty Images)He started alongside Aurelien Tchouameni, Federico Valverde and Edouard Camavinga in a fluid, youthful midfield four that could be considered as one of the most talented in Europe. Ahead of them were Vinicius Jr and Rodrygo as Ancelotti tried a system without a recognised striker.
But, despite not starting with a centre forward, Real were able to run out comfortable winners. Alaba, Eder Militao, Carvajal and Fran Garcia made up the back-line, with Andriy Lunin starting in goal in Thibaut Courtois' absence. There has been reports that Kepa Arrizabalaga could be on his way to Real following Courtois' serious injury.
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