Jude Bellingham is Real Madrid’s hero in El Clasico win over Barcelona: How can Thomas Tuchel ignore him for England? | Football News

After being beaten three times by Barcelona last season, including a humiliating 4-0 defeat in front of their own fans and a cup final, Real Madrid needed a big win in El Clásico. Judd Bellingham, once again, was the man to deliver on this mission.

His reputation as a clutch player for Madrid was forged with two wins against Barcelona in his debut season. This time, there was a brilliant assist before the winning goal, the youngest Madrid player to do both in this famous match this century.

These two moments alone highlight so much of what makes Bellingham such a special player. The decisive pass required strength and skill to engineer space before showing vision and technique to find the perfect pass for Kylian Mbappé to score.

His goal was an exercise in timing, so simple as a result of his movement. That finishing instinct is part of his makeup. Bellingham also received a penalty and had a goal disallowed for offside against Brahim Diaz in the preparation period.

Even in an action-packed Clásico – where Mbappe saved that penalty, while there were two more disallowed goals as well as the forced red card followed by a brawl at the end – watching Bellingham and no one else still provides plenty of entertainment.

Bellingham doesn’t play the game so much as he orchestrates it. Perhaps not in the way that Pedro, the Barcelona player who sees red, tries to do by setting the tempo with his passes, but in a more literal sense – clearly signaling to everyone around him.

This is his main character’s energy, there’s no stopping it. When the ball goes out of play, he can be seen electrifying the crowd, focusing on a different section of the Santiago Bernabéu each time. He teases his teammates. He argues with his opponents.

Naturally, it is this characteristic that brought criticism from Thomas Tuchel in the summer, highlighting Bellingham’s behaviour. “He has fire. I don’t want to make light of it. But fire also comes with some traits that can scare you.”

The England manager has been stressing the need to channel that ability to intimidate his opponents, and Bellingham has done plenty of that. Pedri was physically exhausted at times, and told him in mime form that he was a crybaby at others.

“Talk is cheap.” That’s how Bellingham commented on his statement on social media about the win, a thinly veiled discussion of Barcelona star Lamin Yamal’s apparent comments that circulated publicly on the eve of the match. Madrid was clearly motivated.

With that in mind, Bellingham did the quiet work too, pressing when needed and helping to contain the ball on the hour mark when Xabi Alonso looked to take control of a chaotic game. Bellingham as an influential player but also as a midfielder.

While Vinicius Junior was sacrificed early, much to his dismay, Bellingham remained on the pitch late, receiving a standing ovation from the Bernabeu fans when he finally pulled away in the 86th minute of the match. Real Madrid maintained a five-point lead.

A huge win for Alonso’s side, one they desperately needed given their strong form this season, was punctuated by a shock 5-2 defeat to Atletico in the Madrid derby. They needed to perform well in a big match – this Big game – to emphasize the progress they have made.

But it was undoubtedly a statement from Bellingham as well. As the World Cup finals approached at the end of the season, he found himself, improbably, left out of the England squad amid growing whispers that the team might have found something more in his absence.

It was a reminder of why it would certainly be unreasonable not to include Tuchel. Perhaps we should remember the phrase the England coach said before the clip about his intimidating presence. “Jude has a certain thing,” Tuchel began.

“It brings a welcome advantage that is essential if we are to achieve big things.” In Madrid, where winning big things is a habit and an obligation, they understand that. England need to embrace it too because Jude Bellingham is the difference maker.

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