Jude Bellingham on Sunday snatched Real Madrid a dramatic 3-2 El Clasico win over champions Barcelona with a “fundamental” goal to take them 11 points clear at the top of La Liga.
Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti hailed the England midfielder’s decisive intervention to take Los Blancos to the brink of the Spanish title.
Real Madrid twice came from behind with Vinicius Junior and Lucas Vazquez netting to level strikes by Andreas Christensen and Fermin Lopez, before Bellingham rammed home the winner in stoppage time.
Photo: AFP
“He arrived at just the right time, he worked so hard in the game. It’s been a while since he scored, and today he scored a goal that could be fundamental in winning the league,” Ancelotti said.
Barcelona, second on the table, bounced back with a strong performance after their UEFA Champions League exit at the hands of Paris Saint-Germain, but their last stand was demolished by Bellingham.
Real Madrid showed the same grit to stay in the match as they did in their midweek game against Manchester City on the way to the final four in Europe, before Bellingham’s knock-out blow left the Santiago Bernabeu crowd delighted.
Real Madrid’s top scorer with 21 goals across all competitions, the 20-year-old former Borussia Dortmund man netted twice in Real Madrid’s El Clasico win over Barcelona in October last year and is shining in his first season in Spain.
“We took a huge step towards La Liga,” Vazquez, key in all three Real Madrid goals, told Real Madrid TV.
“We’ve had a very good season, we’re on a very good path, now we just have to polish it off and we’ll go for everything,” he said.
Earlier Atletico Madrid suffered a 2-0 defeat at Deportivo Alaves to dent their chances of a top four finish and end a woeful week, following their Champions League exit.
Diego Simeone’s side, fourth, lead fifth place Athletic Bilbao by three points after Carlos Benavidez and Luis Rioja’s strikes consigned them to defeat.
“We’re in a terrible dynamic,” Atletico goalkeeper Jan Oblak told DAZN. “We have to improve and if we don’t, this end to the season will be very tough.”
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