Jude Bellingham rises to the occasion on his Clasico debut

“I’m more excited than anything,” Jude Bellingham insisted, batting away any suggestion of nerves ahead of his Clasico debut for Real Madrid. “It will be really fun.”

Yet, for large swathes of Saturday’s contest, Bellingham didn’t look like he was having a good time at all.

Both managers agreed that there was no favourite ahead of kick-off – “there hardly ever is in the Clasico” according to Xavi – and a fog of caution hung over each setup. Ronald Araujo was drafted in as Vinicius Junior’s bodyguard, adding a fifth member to Barcelona’s normal backline. On the opposite wing, the indefatigable Fede Valverde was tasked with dropping alongside his right-back Dani Carvajal. Just one big chance fell for either side.

Bellingham’s space was limited by the added defensive personnel but also by one particular scamp that has been a fixture of Barcelona’s side this season.

With 53 minutes on the clock, the visitors trailing to Ilkay Gundogan’s scrappy opener, Bellingham made Real Madrid’s first run behind Barcelona’s previously unbothered backline. Opening up his regal stride, Bellingham was just about to pull the trigger when a blur of blue and red came sliding into view.

Gavi launched his tiny frame around the Olympic Stadium in Montjuic from the first whistle, revelling in the occasion of his ninth Clasico at the tender age of 19 – one year Bellingham’s junior.

When the bite-sized battler again robbed Bellingham in the middle of the pitch shortly before the hour mark, the crowd erupted in a rhythmic chant of “Gavi! Gavi!” Everyone in Catalonia was aware of the importance of stopping Bellingham.

With Vinicius muzzled by Araujo, Rodrygo stuck in a funk of poor form that has dogged his entire season and Joselu starting on the bench, the Englishman carried all of Madrid’s attacking threat on his broad shoulders.

Yet, three-quarters into the contest, Bellingham hadn’t attempted a single shot and was foiled with all four of his dribbles – chiefly by Gavi.

As fate would have it, Gavi was the player that headed away a hopeful cross into the stride of Bellingham. Almost as close to the edge of the centre circle as he was to Barcelona’s penalty area, Bellingham let rip. It was just his fifth effort from outside the box all season but it was a good one. Marc-Andre ter Stegen had scuttled across his line in time but swatted at thin air as the ball viciously veered into the corner.

Bellingham credited his outside-of-the-boot assist earlier in the season to hours spent training with Luka Modric this season. His ripsnorting equaliser was straight out of Valverde’s thunderous playbook.

As his thoughts immediately turned to a winner, Bellingham didn’t even strike his trademark pose. Perhaps he knew there would still be time for that.

With the gravity of the contest shifted by Bellingham’s swat, whistles rained down from the stands as Madrid crept forward in stoppage time, their time, his time.

Modric couldn’t control Carvajal’s cross but by dangling his right boot he directed the ball beyond Barcelona’s Inigo Martinez. Oriol Romeu had been brushed aside, leaving room for Bellingham to pounce on the bounce. It wasn’t anywhere near as impressive as his first goal, with the ball rolling down his shin and between Ter Stegen’s legs, but it was just as sweet.

This time Bellingham made a beeline for the corner flag and deliberately stopped short, opening up that familiar embrace with a confident, deservedly cocky, nod of his head. Yes, he had just done that.

October is not gone but Bellingham has already hit double figures in La Liga. Zinedine Zidane, the man who wore the number five which the Englishman inherited, never scored more than nine in a single La Liga season for Madrid.

Bellingham’s lack of pre-match nerves comes from the visualisation that performs before each game. “I see the pitch, the grass, my playing position,” he explained earlier this month. “That way I feel calmer, I know where I’m going to be on the pitch.” Yet, even in Bellingham’s wildest fantasies, he could scarcely have envisaged such a dramatic and decisive contribution on his Clasico debut.

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