Bellingham scored a masterpiece on the day of the La Liga pitch
In the 36th minute of the game at San Mames, David Alaba took a corner to the far post to let Bellingham catch the volley and send the ball to the high corner, beyond the reach of home keeper Unai Simon. At 20 years and 44 days, Bellingham is the third youngest player to score for Real on his La Liga debut in the 21st century, after Rodrygo against Osasuna in 2019 (18 years and 259 days) and Camavinga against Celta Vigo in 2019. 2021 (18 years 306 days).
Among the rookies of Real this summer, Bellingham - a midfielder recruited with a transfer fee of $ 110 million and $ 32 million in extra fees depending on the performance from Dortmund - received the most expectations. Last season, the English midfielder contributed 14 goals and seven assists for Dortmund, being voted Bundesliga Player of the Year. The super product against Bilbao initially showed Bellingham's bravery and showed that Real's faith in this rookie had paid off.
Eight minutes before Bellingham's masterpiece, Real concretized their superior strength with the opening goal thanks to Rodrgyo. Dani Carvajal passed into the 16m50 area for the Brazilian striker to receive the ball comfortably and then finished the stretch to the corner near Simon. Including the last three games of last season, Rodrygo has scored four goals in his last four La Liga games, one more than his previous 27 games in the league.
The 2-0 lead after only 38 minutes of play concretizes Real's strength and superiority in the opening match of La Liga, despite concerns about personnel after the captain striker Karim Benzema left and the goalkeeper. Number one Thibaut Courtois could be out for the rest of the season because of a knee injury.
Real held the ball 54%, finished twice as many (14 - 7) and hit the goal eight times more (8 - 1) on the home side. They could have won even more if Bellingham, Rodrygo, Vinicius, Valverde or Modric had saved their chances in the second half. However, the 2-0 result was enough for the royal team to start La Liga smoothly. They will play the next match against Almeria on the evening of August 19.
The victory at San Mames also showed Real starting to change the generation when veteran midfield duo Toni Kroos and Luka Modric only started on the bench. Coach Ancelotti uses a diamond-shaped midfield with a quartet of Eduardo Camavinga, Aurelien Tchouameni, Federico Valverde in which Bellingham kicks the highest. The attack is the pair of Brazilian striker Vinicius - Rodrygo.
The only ripple in this victory of Real is the injury Eder Militao. In the pursuit of Oihan Sancet in the 48th minute, the Brazilian midfielder slipped and screamed in pain. He even burst into tears when leaving the field to make way for Antonio Rudiger.
