MIRROR
Jude Bellingham’s scoring run continued on Saturday, with the England star matching Cristiano Ronaldo by hitting double figures for goals in his first 10 matches for Real Madrid.
Ronaldo achieved the feat for the Spanish side in 2009, going on to end his first season at the Bernabeu with 33 goals in 35 appearances. It has taken some 14 years for another Madrid player to do the same, but Bellingham’s double against Osasuna took his tally to 10 in 10.
Bellingham also overtook Ronaldo by scoring eight times in his first eight La Liga games, after Ronaldo posted seven in eight following his arrival from Manchester United. The former Birmingham City man also has two in two in Europe, following Ronaldo in scoring in each of his first two Madrid games in the competition.
First came a last-gasp winner against Union Berlin in his team’s first group game. Los Blancos’ second game in the competition came away to Napoli, with Bellingham on target in a 3-2 win.
Bellingham scored Madrid’s first two goals against Osasuna, with the first arriving inside 10 minutes. Vinicius Junior and Joselu also found the net, while there was also time for Joselu to miss a penalty for the league leaders.
Carlo Ancelotti’s side have eight wins and one loss from their first nine games, with neighbours Atletico Madrid the only team to beat them. The victory over Osasuna leaves them two points clear of Girona in second, though Barcelona can move within a point of the summit with victory at Granada on Sunday.
“Bellingham was born to play for Real Madrid,” Vinicius Junior said after the game (via Football Espana). “I hope we will play together for many years. We are all very happy to have him as a teammate.”
Bellingham’s club performances have been accompanied by impressive displays for England. Gareth Southgate can call upon the 20-year-old for the upcoming games against Australia and Italy, and the Three Lions boss hailed Bellingham after a fantastic display against Scotland in the last international break.
“The biggest thing for me is his personality,” Southgate said in September. “We knew our anthem would be booed, we talked to the players about taking energy from that. We wanted to prepare them for everything for the game.
“But I’m looking at him stood in the line and I know what’s coming. That’s the sort of thing that makes the difference, the mentality of the player. He’s definitely got leadership qualities. The great thing in this group is our senior players are such good leaders, we’ve got six or seven who are incredible.
