Jude Bellingham hoping for 'more nights like these' after Real Madrid beat Man City to reach UEFA Champions League semis

Jude Bellingham says he couldn’t have dreamed of a better start at Real Madrid and hopes “long may it continue” after knocking Manchester City out in the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals.

Bellingham, 20, has been arguably Real’s most impactful player this season after signing from Borussia Dortmund last summer.

He is the second-highest scorer in La Liga with 16 goals, along with four assists, while in the UEFA Champions League he has chipped in with four goals and four assists in eight games.

He scored in the shoot-out as Real beat defending champions Man City to reach the last four, where they will face Bayern Munich, who beat Arsenal 3-2 on aggregate.

“I could never dream of it, how it’s started,” he told TNT Sports.

“Not just because of the performance and the goals, but just feeling you get playing for the club. It’s just that feeling every day you put the badge on and you are so grateful to be there.

“Long may it continue and hopefully more nights like these.”

Real have dominated the UEFA Champions League over the last decade and are aiming for a record-extending 15th title this season.

In Carlo Ancelotti they also have the most decorated manager in UEFA Champions League history, having won the trophy twice with Real and twice with AC Milan.

Asked about Ancelotti’s impact on the team, Bellingham added: “Our biggest strength is that he finds a way to let of the boys play with freedom.

“Some teams are a bit more structured in terms of their passing styles and patterns of play and it’s really interesting to watch and it’s difficult to play against, but one of our biggest strengths is that we are so off the cuff.

“As a man he fills you with calmness and confidence. Before the game I caught him yawning and I said ‘boss are you tired?’ and he said ‘yeah, you need to go and excite me out there’. That’s the kind of confidence and calmness he brings.”

Reflecting on his move to Real this season and the pressures that come with playing at such a big club, Bellingham said: “You have to see it as responsibility more than pressure.

“If you want to come to a club like Real Madrid and take that step, you have to be willing to be criticised and be under that scrutiny and that spotlight. If you are here then it probably means you are ready so you have to trust the process.”

Real were on the back foot for much of the game against City but held on to force a shoot-out.

Bernardo Silva and Mateo Kovacic both saw spot-kicks saved as Real emerged victorious after a thrilling and hard-fought tie.

“You put so much into the game,” said Bellingham.

“I have played City before and it’s been close and you feel like you are going to get something out of it and then all of a sudden they snatch it away from you. You have to work really hard to beat them and I was pretty much dead on my feet at the end. To win the game is a massive reward.

"It’s so difficult because they are continuously probing with the ball, they move you around and take you into positions you don’t sometimes want to go, but you have to follow otherwise they can punish you, and they did for the goal.

"Most teams at that point would fall apart when City get on top of you and the crowd gets going, but we stood up really well and we worked hard.”

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