The England midfielder made Spain's biggest game his own once again as he provided another huge goal to take down Madrid's biggest rivals
Jude Bellingham seems to like playing against Barcelona. The England midfielder is still to new to playing in El Clasico, but he is already having a major impact on Spain's biggest rivalry. On Sunday, in his third Clasico of the season, he came up with his biggest moment yet, as he capped off a chaotic, often controversial game with a dramatic late winner to secure a 3-2 victory – one that will surely sew up La Liga for Carlo Ancelotti's side.
Barca made it a game early on, taking advantage of a sloppy Madrid start. They opened the scoring from a corner, when Andriy Lunin misjudged a teasing delivery, leaving an empty net for Andreas Christensen to nod into. But Los Blancos woke up, and worked their way back into the game, though they were rather gifted their equaliser when a careless tackle from Pau Cubarsi on Lucas Vazquez gave Madrid a penalty, which Vinicius Jr dutifully tucked away.
Barca thought they had retaken the lead soon after when Lamine Yamal's instinctive flick at the near post appeared to cross the line – but a VAR check determined that the ball had stayed out. A glance at the replay, though, proved inconclusive, and La Liga's puzzling lack of goal-line technology will surely come under the spotlight in the coming days.
Xavi's side did bag a second after the break, as substitute Fermin Lopez took advantage of another Lunin mistake for an easy close-range finish. But once again, Barca couldn't hold on, as Vazquez snuck in at the far post to meet Vinicius' whipped cross. And then came Bellingham's moment; the boy from Birmingham darted in at the far post to meet Vazquez's cross, and smashed the ball into the roof of the net with his weaker left foot to win the game – and establish himself as the new king of this storied fixture.
GOAL breaks down the winners & losers from Santiago Bernabeu…
David Ramos/Getty ImagesWINNER: Jude Bellingham
Will Bellingham ever tire of this fixture? Probably not, but he'll have to go some way to match the impact he's had on his opening taste of the Clasico rivalry. He has now produced the crucial moments in two of the three games between Madrid and Barca this season, and was instrumental in the third.
Back in October, Bellingham turned the game on its head single-handedly, scoring twice in the second half – including once in stoppage-time – to secure a 2-1 win at the Olympic Stadium. He showed up in the Spanish Super Cup final, too, assisting Vinicius' effort as Los Blancos ran riot in Saudi Arabia.
And now on Sunday, he provided another match-winner, rifling an effort into the roof of the net with his only clear goal-scoring opportunity of the match for what was a deserved finish to another impressive performance.
The Englishman has been subject to mild criticism in recent weeks after his goals dried up, and at one point, it seemed he could easily surpass 30 in all competitions in 2023-24. Sunday's strike was his 21st of the campaign, which may seem like something of a let down given his early season pace, but that would be harsh in the grander scheme of things.
This is a 20-year-old making the world's biggest fixture his own; what more could Real Madrid ask for?
AdvertisementGetty ImagesLOSER: Frenkie de Jong
How unlucky can De Jong get? The Dutch midfielder finally looked settled in the Barca line up last season, and everything seemed geared towards his continued development – if not pending superstardom – this campaign. But he's been robbed of what should have been his best season yet by a series of injuries.
It started in August, when he suffered a high ankle sprain – one that he reaggravated a few months later. On Sunday, meanwhile, he picked up another injury, which also resulted from a blow to his lower leg – and saw him stretchered off the pitch.
It's unfortunate for the De Jong, not least because he has been a crucial part of Barca's midfield when fit. There are problems all over the pitch that Xavi has had to solve, but De Jong's 'pausa' in the middle of the park always gives them a chance. Without him, they're simply not the same. Factor in that this latest blow comes so close to Euro 2024, and De Jong, who was understandably distraught upon his substitution, just can't catch a break.
Getty ImagesWINNER: Lucas Vazquez
Perhaps not the Clasico hero that many were expecting, but Vazquez turned out to be the man Madrid needed to keep them on the track to success. Defensively, the Spain international kept Raphinha quiet, leaving the in-form Brazilian to feed off scraps for long stretches, but he was even better going the other way.
His marauding run down the right-wing led to Madrid's first equaliser, as he breezed past Joao Cancelo and cleverly embraced contact from Cubarsi to win the penalty that Vinicius converted. Later on, he scored Los Blancos' second, tucking home an awkward bouncing cross from the opposite wing. And although Bellingham will rightfully claim the plaudits for the winner, it was Vazquez's angled delivery that fell kindly to the feet of the Englishman in the 91st minute.
Bellingham labelled the full-back a "f*cking legend" on X post-match, and while Dani Carvajal remains Madrid's first-choice right-back, Vazquez's longevity and ability to pop up in crucial moments means many Madridistas will agree with their midfielder's assessment of the 32-year-old.
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Getty ImagesLOSER: La Liga
Not a great evening for the Spanish top-flight. First, the league's lack of goal-line technology threw jeopardy into what should have been an easy clarification when Yamal's near-post flick potentially crossed the line. It remains unclear as to whether the ball did indeed go all the way into the goal, but it will undoubtedly become a talking point when the league really should jut invest in the technology.
It all led to an embarrassing tweet from La Liga president Javier Tebas who defended his stance by pointing to rare instances when the technology hasn't worked elsewhere. Such an incident happening in the league's most high-profile fixture, though, threatens to deepen a crisis that really shouldn't exist.
And then, there is the question of the title race. It was probably over before Sunday, in all honesty, as Madrid's eight-point lead seemed secure, while an inconsistent Barca couldn't be trusted to win out. But this result ended it for good, meaning fans will have to look elsewhere for excitement during the final six rounds of fixtures.