Jude Bellingham finally scored his first Real Madrid goal of the season against Juventus on Wednesday night.
The Englishman, who has endured a difficult, injury-ladened start to this campaign, put Los Blancos 1-0 up just minutes after half time.
Following a sub-par first half display from Xabi Alonso’s side, they came out the traps flying in the second with Bellingham, Vinicius Junior and Kylian Mbappe well and truly on-song.
The game’s opener came after a stellar piece of play from Vinicius, who weaved past two Old Lady defenders before firing an effort on-goal which agonisingly crashed straight into the far post. The rebound however fell straight to Bellingham who, baring down on an open net, simply couldn’t miss.
He sent the ball home with his laces before wheeling away to celebrate his first goal of the season, one which he will no-doubt hope England boss Thomas Tuchel was watching.
The German raised eyebrows earlier this month by omitting Bellingham, then declared fully fit, from his latest international squad.
Jude Bellingham netted his first goal of the season on Wednesday for Real Madrid
The Englishman latched onto a deflection off the post to fire home from close range
Bellingham had been ruled out of the previous squad in early September with a shoulder injury but Tuchel preferred the likes of Elliot Anderson, Declan Rice and Eberechi Eze to the Real Madrid midfielder for his side’s clashes with Wales and Latvia.
Explaining his decision, Tuchel cryptically praised England’s ‘team spirit’ during the earlier fixtures from which Bellingham was omitted.
‘The last camp was only three and a half weeks ago. Teamwork, team spirit were at the highest level so far.
‘That’s why we decided to invite the same group into this camp, to make more stable what we started to build. Are there players out there who deserve to be with us? Yes, for sure. Is there a way back into the team through performance? 100 per cent.
‘We think this is the best and most straightforward position. The competition is on to be in the squad and to make it onto the pitch. I understand your focus on Jude (Bellingham); he is a very special player, and for special players, there are special rules.
‘But for this camp we decided to stick with out decision to invite the same team, that also applies to Jude. He always deserves to be in camp.
‘There is also the situation that he hasn’t gathered his full rhythm for Real Madrid. He hasn’t finished one full match until now; he has only started one now.
‘He is getting back to full strength. We had a phone call. There is no issue from that side, he just lacks rhythm.’
Bellingham was left out of Thomas Tuchel’s England squad earlier this month despite being fully fit
Bellingham’s woes were later compounded with the news that his parents, Mark and Denise, had split.
The Daily Mail revealed earlier this month that the pair, who are widely credited with having masterminded their two sons’ careers, brought their two-decade-long marriage to an end following years of living in separate countries.
Rumours of the couple’s split began to emerge a week or so earlier when they were spotted sitting unusually apart to watch Jobe, Jude’s younger brother, play against Athletic Bilbao for Borussia Dortmund.
A German newspaper suggested there was a ‘dangerously tense atmosphere’ surrounding the family at the match, with Mark, 49, only talking to a close family member during the game, and not 57-year-old Denise, who was said to have avoided conversation.
Sources close to the couple then confirmed that Mark had grown close to Shelley Punshon, a detective constable in the West Mercia police.
The Daily Mail revealed earlier this month that Jude’s parents, Mark and Denise, had split
The Bellingham brothers had often credited their parents with being instrumental in their success
It is not clear how the pair met, but Ms Punshon uploaded a picture of the couple looking comfortable together to her public Facebook profile in August. The photograph, taken on a woodland track, features a smiling Mark standing behind Ms Punshon, with an arm draped around her.
Bellingham has however seemingly not been phased by news of his parents’ break-up, with the midfielder back to his best against Juve on Wednesday.
His goal proved to be the only of the game, with Madrid holding on to a 1-0 win to make it three wins out of three in the Champions League.
He’ll now no doubt be eyeing a spot in the next England squad for their games against Serbia and Albania in mid-November.
