Ancelotti, Madrid ‘surprised’ by Bellingham scoring heroics

Carlo Ancelotti said he was “surprised” by Jude Bellingham’s continued goalscoring form after the Real Madrid midfielder scored twice in the 2-1. El ClAsico win against Barcelona on Saturday, saying that “right now he’s the one who makes the difference.

Bellingham equalized from distance in the 68th minute at the Olympic Stadium – after Ilkay Gündogan had put Barça ahead in the sixth minute – before netting the winner in injury time to leave Madrid top of the La Liga table with 28 points.

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“He scored an extraordinary goal for the first and he was smart for the second,” Ancelotti said in his post-match press conference. “We are surprised. Everyone is surprised by his level and his level of efficiency up front.

“He enters the box, but today the shot [for the first goal] surprised us, he scored a magnificent goal… At the moment, he is the one who makes the difference.”

The England star now has 10 goals in 10 league matches this season – making him the division’s top scorer – and 13 in all competitions after netting three in the Champions League.

“He looks like a veteran, his attitude is very good,” Ancelotti said. “The equalizer completely changed the dynamic, it meant more strength for us and more weakness for Barcelona, ​​who were playing better until then.”

Bellingham’s midfield partner Luka Modric added to his boss’s praise.

“I don’t know how to explain it,” Modric said. “He came in and it feels like he’s been there for a long time. He fell on his feet. We’re all happy with his performance, his personality, who he is.

“It is not a coincidence [what he’s doing]. He’s a great kid, an extraordinary talent. Even he can’t believe the goals he scores.”

Madrid struggled in the first half, failing to register a single shot on target.

“I told them you can lose these games, but if we were to lose we had to do it differently,” Ancelotti said when asked about his half-time team speech. “More energy, more motivation, better in duels. From what they did in the second half, [the team] agree with what I said.”

Ancelotti, however, said the team should not rely on Bellingham’s goals and called on forwards Vinícius Júnior – who has two La Liga goals this season – and Rodrygo Goes – who has one – to contribute.

“20 to 25 goals, [Bellingham] “He started well, but we don’t see him as a goalscorer, we think he is a very important player for us who is scoring a lot of goals at the moment. We also need goals from the strikers.”