Jude Bellingham endured a nightmare evening on his first start since returning from injury, and Xabi Alonso may be the one to blame.
That is the opinion of European football expert Andy Brassell, who also questioned where the England star now fits in at Real Madrid.
Bellingham made his first start since his injury as Madrid lost 5-2 to their arch rivalsGettyBellingham was thrust into Los Blancos’ first XI on Saturday, but was powerless to prevent a 5-2 defeat to Atletico in the Madrid derby.
The Three Lions ace had only played his first minutes of the season a week earlier as a stoppage-time substitute in a 2-0 win over Espanyol.
The 22-year-old managed less than 20 minutes against Levante last Tuesday, and was understandably short of match fitness against Diego Simeone‘s men after missing the entirety of pre-season.
Bellingham went under the knife on a long-standing shoulder complaint in July, having suffered with the issue since late 2023.
He was then tasked with playing 70 minutes of a scrappy and physical Madrid derby at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano on Saturday.
Speaking exclusively to talkSPORT.com, Brassell pondered: “I wonder if Real Madrid and Xabi Alonso didn’t make a bit of a mistake in bringing back Jude Bellingham for his first start in the Madrid derby.
“If you look at the away derbies historically or recently, historically in away Atletico, they have made a point, Atletico, of targeting Jude Bellingham, of trying to wind him up, of trying to get under his skin.”
In February, Bellingham launched an X-rated tirade in a heated Madrid derby, with Atleti fans also caught throwing bottles at him a month later.
“It’s worked on a couple of occasions,” Brassell added. “But I don’t think this is the reason that it didn’t work out for him in the XI.
“I think there are a number of reasons. I think Xabi Alonso tactically didn’t get it right in this derby. They’d been to Levante on Tuesday and they’d won 4-1, looked very comfortable, and maintained a 100 per cent record.
Bellingham’s fitness was called into question by Spanish mediaGetty“In the Madrid press, they were calling Xabi Alonso 007 because of the seven successive wins, including the one against Marseille in the Champions League that they got. And everything was going great.
“Then they go into the Madrid derby, and he appears to overthink it a little bit.
“Now, it might be a personnel issue, but they switched from three at the back to four, maybe to anticipate the fact that Atletico want to get balls down the channels and get behind the wingbacks, but they did that anyway, to be perfectly honest.
“I felt, especially with Bellingham, not being quite ready and being chucked in for a Madrid derby away, for your first start of the season, I think is a bit much to ask in terms of the level of intensity before we even get to the bit about the fact that Atletico really had to go through it and try and win it.”
Bellingham’s role is not clear
A lack of fitness aside, Bellingham also struggled to stamp his mark against Atleti, managing one shot with an xG value of 0.03.
The midfielder, operating in the No.10 role, lost possession seven times and created only one chance for a teammate.
Brassell said: “The other thing with Bellingham coming back is the fact that his role is not clear because we’ve had a pick up in the relationship between Kylian Mbappe, who started the season brilliantly, and Vinicius has been playing well, or at least was before this game. He had his moments in this derby as well.
“But then you’ve got the fact that you throw Bellingham into the mix. How does he click in? And how does that fit with Arda Guler?
“Now, in the second half, when they went 3-2 down, they took off [Dani] Carvajal, they took off Arda Guler, and it seemed like an easy substitution to make, really, because he’s the younger guy.
“He lasted less on the pitch than Bellingham did, despite scoring the second goal that put them 2-1 up.
“Really, I think it’s not obvious where Jude Bellingham goes, because they buy him as someone to be their eight going forward.
Bellingham and Mbappe had built up an understanding towards the end of last seasonGetty“He ends up being the 10, slash, nine for the first season, because they don’t have a proper striker.
“Then Mbappe arrives. He has to learn how to play with Mbappe, and Mbappe has to learn to play with him. And they made really good progress on that last season. That’s one of the things about Real Madrid’s season that goes a little bit unnoticed.
“But now you’ve got the fact that Rodrygo hasn’t gone, that Vinicius is still there, that Arda Guler is a player they kind of need, because they don’t really have a dribbler in midfield apart from him or Brahim Diaz.
“It’s highly unlikely they play him and Brahim Diaz in the same team.
“Brahim is somebody who stepped in for Jude Bellingham when he’s been injured or suspended before.
“So it’s not immediately obvious where you’re playing Bellingham.”
Bellingham has sported a slimmed-down physique since his returnGetty The England international had bulked up to help manage his shoulder issueGettyBellingham body transformation
The former Borussia Dortmund star dislocated his shoulder in a 0-0 draw against Rayo Vallecano in November 2023.
He was forced to miss Madrid’s next two matches, while also being absent for England’s final two Euro 2024 qualifiers.
But for the next year-and-a-half, Bellingham managed the issue with heavy strapping and a bulked-up physique to prevent further injury to his shoulder until he had his surgery.
His return to the slim frame fans were more accustomed to him in Germany has been a deliberate move to align with Alonso’s demands.
“In terms of the reshaping of his body, well, part of that I think is because of Xabi Alonso, because he is someone who requires really mobile players,” Brassell explained to talkSPORT.
Bellingham teamed up with Kim Kardashian’s clothing brand SKIMS in July 2024@skims Instagram His current frame harks back to his days as a box-to-box at DortmundGetty“If Bellingham’s not going to be the anchor, which he’s not, you’re going to need an ability to really get up and down. That’s what he’s aiming at eventually.
“But in terms of how the next little while goes for Bellingham, it feels as if the team’s quite unfinished. But of course, the plus side is they’ve got so many games, he’s got an opportunity between now and November to get himself super fit, to get himself in a good place.
“From there, I think they work out what the best Real Madrid team is., but until they’ve got all the defenders fit and you know what the composition of the defence is, whether Alonso’s going to play with a three going forward or a four, once you’ve sorted out those questions, then you start to sort out the midfield.
“It’s not immediately obvious where he fits, I think, for now.”
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