Bellingham matches Ronaldo's start at Real Madrid with 10 goals in first 10 games
BARCELONA, Spain: Jude Bellingham equaled the fantastic scoring numbers at Real Madrid of Cristiano Ronaldo's start with the club on Saturday, showing again that Real Madrid got much more than a promising midfielder when they signed him this summer.
The England international took his tally to 10 in as many games after netting twice to help Madrid rout Osasuna 4-0 and keep the Spanish league lead. That was the best scoring start for a new Madrid player since Ronaldo also scored 10 in his first 10 games after his 2009 transfer from Manchester United.
“I’m a confident guy, but I didn’t expect such a good start,” Bellingham said.
“At this stage of the season you can’t ask for more."
Not only has the 20-year-old Bellingham started filling the big boots of an aging Luka Modric, he is also helping Madrid to quickly move past the exit of Karim Benzema amid a still unsuccessful pursuit of Kylian Mbappé.
“He puts on his Superman cape in nearly every game," veteran defender Dani Carvajal, who set up Bellingham’s opener, said about his new teammate.
Bellingham sent a message that he was ready to handle high expectations when he accepted the No. 5 of Zinedine Zidane at Madrid.
But nobody expected him to score at this rate, not even his coach. And this was for a team that were supposed to struggle after Benzema, their top scorer for the past four seasons, left for Saudi Arabia.
Bellingham leads the league with eight goals — and has scored in six of eight league games.
He has also scored in both of Madrid’s Champions League games, including a 3-2 win at Napoli this week.
“His start to the season has been a surprise in every aspect. Nobody expected him to score like this,” Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti said.
His sudden transformation