'Switched on' Bellingham snatches Madrid win with late strike

BARCELONA: Jude Bellingham rescued Real Madrid with a 94th-minute strike to earn the Spanish giants a 1-0 win over Champions League debutants Union Berlin on Wednesday (Sep 20).

Carlo Ancelotti's side, 14-time winners of the competition, were thwarted at every turn by their stubborn German opponents, who were only promoted to the Bundesliga four years ago, until Bellingham prodded home at the death.

The England international has started his Madrid career in stunning goalscoring form with six goals in six games for the club across all competitions.

Madrid seemed destined to take only a point after Union Berlin goalkeeper Frederik Ronnow frustrated them and Rodrygo and Joselu both hit the woodwork, until Bellingham intervened.

"Scoring in the last minute is the spirit of this shirt - of not giving up," Madrid coach Ancelotti told a news conference.

"(Bellingham) has great qualities, it seems he's got luck too, because the goal is a rebound, but he was there, he arrives from deep, and he's more switched on than others, he's got that quality and he's taking advantage of it."

Real Madrid have only failed to score in one of their last 68 home matches in the Champions League, and on few occasions at the Santiago Bernabeu have they seemed as toothless as in the first half.

Without injured forward Vinicius Junior the Madrid attack has lacked dynamism in recent weeks, even as midfielder Bellingham's goals have earned them a 100 per cent record in La Liga after five games.

The English midfielder made his Champions League debut in the competition for Madrid after his move from Borussia Dortmund in the summer.

Bellingham arrived after Madrid's thrashing by Manchester City in last season's semi-finals, a new star to help Madrid try to win the