Almeria 1-3 Real Madrid - Jude Bellingham bags brace as Carlo Ancelotti's side overcome hosts in La Liga clash
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Updated 19/08/2023 at 22:33 GMT
Jude Bellingham has enjoyed a wonderful start to life at Real Madrid, and that only continued on Saturday evening as the England midfielder grabbed two goals in an impressive performance for Carlo Ancelotti's side. It ended up being a 3-1 victory for the visitors as they overcame doughty opposition, with Vinicius Junior also getting on the scoresheet.
Jude Bellingham of Real Madrid celebrates after scoring the team's second goal during the LaLiga EA Sports match between UD Almeria and Real Madrid CF at Juegos Mediterraneos
Image credit: Getty Images
Real Madrid made it two wins from two in La Liga with a 3-1 victory against Almeria at the Power Horse Stadium, Jude Bellingham scoring a brace to extend his tally to three goals in two games.
Almeria kicked off with the odds stacked against them, having finished 17th last term – only just scraping survival – and they lost their season-opener to Rayo Vallecano. They were ahead within three minutes, though, with Sergio Arribas, who left the Bernabeu earlier this month, stooping to head in Lucas Robertone’s lofted cross.
Real initially struggled to find a response, though Aurelien Tchouameni drew a good save from Luis Maximiano, making his Almeria debut, with a powerful header. They levelled with 19 minutes on the clock, however, with Bellingham getting back on the scoresheet.
Rodrygo won a free kick in a promising position after being bundled over by Edgar Gonzalez and, while Toni Kroos failed with his initial attempt to slip in Fran Garcia on the left, Real switched the play and Dani Carvajal whipped in a cross from the opposite flank. Federico Valverde headed it down to Bellingham who, despite a bout of pinball, managed to find the far corner.
Almeria refused to roll over, Robertone and Iddrisu Baba both drawing saves from Andriy Lunin from long range. Real thought they had nabbed the lead just before the break when Kroos swept in a shot from the edge of the area, but it was ruled out for a foul from Carvajal moments earlier.
After an even start to the second half, Real edged in front on the 60-minute mark when Bellingham met Kroos’ inswinging cross to nod over Maximiano and into the back of the net. Almeria went close to equalising when Luis Suarez headed narrowly wide of the upright before Bellingham added an assist to his haul when he teed up Vinicius Jr to score a decisive third goal.
TALKING POINT
Real get by without Militao. Ruled out for the foreseeable with an ACL injury sustained in the 2-0 win against Athletic Bilbao last weekend, Eder Militao will be a big miss for Real in the coming months.
This was far from an immaculate performance in defence, with Almeria afforded 20 shots – eight on target – and allowed to build considerable momentum. Even so, Antonio Rudiger gave a solid performance in Militao’s place at centre-back and, while starting Kroos in midfield ahead of Eduardo Camavinga ceded a measure of control, Carlo Ancelotti will feel vindicated by an energetic attacking display.
PLAYER OF THE MATCH
Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid). Just as he did against Athletic, Bellingham gave a game-changing performance in midfield.
While two well-taken goals and a neat assist were impressive enough, this was another all-round show of excellence. He could not have asked for a better start to his Real career.
PLAYER RATINGS
Almeria: Maximiano 7, Pubill 6, Gonzalez 6, Chumi 5, Akieme 5, Robertone 7, Baba 6, Arribas 7, Ramazani 5, Embarba 6, Suarez 6
Subs: Kone 6, Pozo 6, Melero 5, Puigmal N/A, Lazaro N/A
Real Madrid: Lunin 6, Carvajal 7, Rudiger 7, Alaba 7, Garcia 7, Tchouameni 7, Valverde 6, Kroos 6, Bellingham 9, Rodrygo 7, Vinicius Jr 8
Subs: Modric 6, Camavinga 6, Joselu 5, Diaz N/A, Vazquez N/A
MATCH HIGHLIGHTS
3’ GOAL! After Real squander a free kick, Maximiano sets off a counter-attack which ends with Arribas heading Robertone’s scooped cross into the back of the net. The underdogs are ahead!
19’ GOAL! Rodrygo wins a free kick in a promising position after going down under pressure from Gonzalez. Kroos plays it short to Garcia on the left, who can’t find a way through and recycles the ball. It ends up with Carvajal, who slashes in a cross from the opposite flank which is headed down by Valverde. It falls for Bellingham who, after an awkward bobble, fires into the far corner.
20’ VAR CHECK COMPLETE. Bellingham looked narrowly offside at first glance, but a VAR check shows that Sergio Akieme played him on.
45+4’ NO GOAL! Kroos has the ball in the back of the net with a swept shot from the edge of the area and Real think they have taken the lead just before the break. Unfortunately for them the referee, Jose Maria Sanchez Martinez, is called to the monitor, ruling out the goal for a foul from Carvajal in the build-up.
60’ GOAL! And, simple as that, Real are ahead. Kroos sends in an inswinging cross from the left and Bellingham meets it, nodding a header over Maximiano.
73’ GOAL! A flowing passing move ends with Bellingham setting up Vinicius, who clips a first-time shot into the top corner.
KEY STATS
- According to Opta, Arribas’ opener after three minutes was the earliest goal conceded by Real in an away game in La Liga since Nabil Ghilas’ strike for Cordoba in January 2015.
- Jude Bellingham is only the third player to be involved in four goals in his first two La Liga games in the 21st century after Wesley Sneijder and Mounir El Hamdaoui.
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