The 20-year-old is earning a reputation for showing up in the biggest of moments and providing late magic to inspire both club and country
Jude Bellingham has constantly received plaudits for his performances in a Real Madrid shirt this season, and rightfully so. The 20-year-old’s first season at Santiago Bernabeu has seen him lead Los Blancos to the cusp of a La Liga title, the Champions League semi-finals and put himself fully in the frame to win the Ballon d’Or.
Bellingham has constantly delivered in big moments, providing game-winning goals and assists to keep Madrid on track towards what would be a memorable double. The England midfielder certainly seems to possess the much-discussed ‘clutch gene’, with his penchant for late interventions running all the way back his days as a teenager at Birmingham City.
As such, GOAL has taken a look at Bellingham’s most clutch moments in his young career so far…
Birmingham bedlam
It didn’t take long for Bellingham to make an impact for his boyhood club. The Birmingham academy talent had impressed on his league debut against Swansea City in August 2019, and when Jefferson Montero went down with an injury in the first half of the following week’s game against Stoke City, Bellingham was called upon from the bench.
Making his first appearance at St. Andrews, Bellingham quickly went about showing the Blues’ faithful just why he was earning first-team minutes at the age of 16. Birmingham trailed after an hour, but equalised through Lukas Jutkiewicz in the 73rd minute. Then, three minutes later, Bellingham struck , as his deflected strike wrong-footed a helpless Adam Federici, who could only watch as the ball trickled into the net.
That match-winning moment kick-started a campaign that saw Bellingham become the hottest property within the Championship, and nine months later, he was en route to Germany to join Borussia Dortmund, while his No.22 shirt was being retired by his boyhood club.
Dortmund delight
While not always deployed in outright attacking positions for Dortmund, Bellingham still managed to pop up with timely goals for the Bundesliga giants. One of his most memorabe came in January 2022, when Bellingham helped turn around a fixture against Eintracht Frankfurt.
Marco Rose’s side still had feint title hopes at the time, and needed a win against a struggling Eintracht side to keep themselves back into the picture. But with Dortmund trailing 2-1 in the 87th minute, hopes of a victory seemed slim at best.
That was until Bellingham rose to meet Thomas Meunier’s teasing cross, and nodded home past a frozen goalkeeper. Mahmoud Dahoud then netted the winner two minutes later, but that wouldn’t have been possible without the England midfielder’s intervention.
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Getty ImagesChampions League late show
Madrid were poor against Union Berlin in their opening Champions League game of 2023-24. Carlo Ancelotti’s side struggled to break down a dogged low block, and seemed poised to settle for a disappointing point to begin their quest for a 15th European Cup. Then, Bellingham showed up.
His goal came via another late run into the box that was timed perfectly to meet a ricochet with the goal gaping. He may have received something of a fortunate bounce, but this wasn’t a goal of luck. Rather, it was the result of finisher’s instincts as Bellingham wasted little time in making an impact on the continental stage for his new club.
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(C)Getty ImagesWelcome to El Clasico
Barcelona battered Madrid for 45 minutes of this season’s first Clasico. An injury-ravaged Blaugrana turned in their most complete half of the season, and were good value for their 1-0 lead at the break.
But in the second half, Bellingham turned things around. He bagged the equalising goal, scoring with a speculative strike from 25 yards out that flew past a helpless Marc-Andre ter Stegen. And then, in the 92nd minuted, he netted the winner with a deft flick from close range. El Clasico’s new king had arrived.
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GettyEqualising for England
England had turned in a miserable showing against Belgium at Wembley in March. Without Harry Kane up front, Gareth Southgate’s side looked devoid of ideas, and seemed set to slip to back-to-back defeats after losing out to Brazil three days previously.
But Bellingham popped up when it mattered most. The Three Lions pieced together their first real convincing attacking sequence of the game in the 95th minute, and Bellingham snuck into the box to receive James Maddison’s lay-off, which he in turn smashed into the net to avoid an embarrassing home defeat.
The 20-year-old admitted after the game England were far from their best, but it did little to detract from his late heroics – ones that could be crucial to his country’s success at Euro 2024 this summer.
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Getty ImagesClasico King scores again
Bellingham had barely put a foot wrong through 92 minutes of his first Clasico at the Bernabeu. He was everywhere: full of neat touches, timely tackles, and clever passes. He hadn’t, however, had a real sight of goal at any point.
That changed in stoppage-time, though, as he finally got his chance. Bellingham snuck in at the far post to meet Vazquez’s cross, and lashed home from a tricky angle with his weaker foot. It was arguably his biggest Madrid moment yet – the goal that will likely seal a La Liga title for Carlo Ancelotti’s side.
Source Goal.com
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