Jude Bellingham took his La Liga tally to three goals in two games with another inspired performance as Real Madrid saw off Almeria 3-1 on Saturday.
An early goal from former Madrid starlet Sergio Arribas threatened an upset but the individual quality in Carlo Ancelotti’s squad soon made the difference, with Bellingham netting either side of half-time and Vinicius Junior adding an excellent third.
Madrid found themselves behind after just three minutes as Arribas came back to haunt them. Sold just nine days before this game, the midfielder headed home an electric counter to give Almeria the perfect start.
Now happy to sit deep, Almeria frustrated Madrid with some resolute defending, giving up plenty of possession but very little space to Ancelotti’s side, who controversially found a way through 15 minutes later.
Bellingham poked the ball into the back of the net but his celebrations were subdued as the VAR checked both a potential offside and handball, but the goal was ultimately allowed to stand.
Rodrygo fizzed wide soon after as Madrid started to find their footing, but it was Almeria who ended the first half on top. Andriy Lunin was needed to make a handful of smart saves as the hosts felt frustrated not to be back in front at the break.
The last action of the half, however, saw VAR overrule a goal from Toni Kroos, whose effort was chalked off due to an earlier foul from Dani Carvajal.
There would be no denying Bellingham on the hour mark as the England international leapt highest and nodded a cross from Kroos beyond Luis Maximiano to put Madrid ahead.
Luis Suarez crashed a header of his one narrowly wide ten minutes later as Almeria served a reminder that they were not yet out of this game, but a moment of magic from the otherwise-anonymous Vinicius derailed any hope from the home side.
Vinicius found an inch of space in the box and lofted a glorious effort over Maximiano and into the back of the net to seal all three points.
GK: Luis Maximiano (4); RB: Marc Pubill (6); CB: Juan Brandariz (5); CB: Edgar Gonzalez (6); LB: Sergio Akieme (5); DM: Idrissu Baba (6); DM: Lucas Robertone (7); RM: Adrian Embarba (7); AM: Sergio Arribas (7); LM: Largie Ramazani (7); ST: Luis Suarez (6)
Substitutes: Ibrahima Kone (6), Alejandro Pozo (6), Gonzalo Melero (6), Arnau Puigmal (N/A), Lazaro Vinicius (N/A)
GK: Andriy Lunin – 7/10 – Busier than he would have expected to be. While he wasn’t always convincing Lunin, made a number of solid saves to keep his side in this game.
RB: Dani Carvajal – 5/10 – Decent attacking output with a number of solid crosses, but committed too hard and was caught out of position too often.
CB: Antonio Rudiger – 6/10 – Had a whole lot of defending to do and usually did his job pretty well. Made a particularly impressive block in the first half.
CB: David Alaba – 5/10 – Not his finest performance. Struggled to track Almeria’s forwards and offered very little aerially.
LB: Fran Garcia – 5/10 – Not his finest showing. Didn’t seem to put it together at either end of the field. Link-up with Vinicius clearly needs work.
DM: Aurelien Tchouameni – 7/10 – Covered the midfield battle with energy. One of Ancelotti’s most important players.
CM: Federico Valverde – 7/10 – Buzzed around with plenty of energy and did his best to try and make something happen. His unreal engine saw him stand out when those around him began to slow down.
CM: Toni Kroos – 7/10 – His limited physicality continues to be a serious problem but there’s no denying his ability with the ball at his feet. An excellent cross for Bellingham’s second.
AM: Jude Bellingham – 9/10 – A striker, midfielder, winger, whatever. Bellingham did it all and added his second goal of the season. An inspired performance.
ST: Vinicius Junior – 6/10 – Completely lost in this striker role but he’s so good that he still scores even when he’s struggling.
ST: Rodrygo – 6/10 – Clearly more comfortable in this position than his partner. Not always impactful but Rodrygo was still his side’s biggest threat aside from Bellingham.
Substitutes
SUB: Eduardo Camavinga (72′ for Rodrygo) – 6/10 – A surprising appearance given his recent injury concern.
SUB: Luka Modric (72′ for Kroos) – 6/10 – Classy as ever in limited minutes.
SUB: Joselu (81′ for Bellingham) – N/A
SUB: Brahim Diaz (90′ for Vinicius) – N/A
SUB: Lucas Vazquez (90′ for Valverde) – N/A
Subs not used: Kepa (GK), Fran (GK), Nacho, Vazquez, Nico
Manager
Carlo Ancelotti – 5/10 – While the diamond gets the best out of Bellingham, it seems to bring the worst out of everyone else. It felt like individual quality won this game for Madrid, rather than any tactical genius.
