OLIVER HOLT: Jude Bellingham is Il Fenomeno, the King of Madrid
One after the other, Carlo Ancelotti and Xavi, walked from the home and away changing rooms at the Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys and took their turn in front of the media. One of them has a claim to be the greatest manager we have ever seen. The other was one of the greatest players. Between them, they have seen a few things in this game.
Even for them, this must have felt a little different. Even for them, they must have felt they had witnessed something special. The questions from the Spanish media reflected that. They came fast and breathlessly and, without apology, they had the same relentless, almost disbelieving, theme: Bellingham, Bellingham, Bellingham, Bellingham, Bellingham.
Jude Bellingham, the 20-year-old Englishman that many believe to be the best player in the world at the moment, had done it again. In his first appearance in El Clasico, he had carried his fretful Madrid team on his shoulders and lifted them to a stunning comeback victory with two brilliantly-taken goals.
In the process, he became only the fifth Englishman to score in the world’s biggest club game – the others are Laurie Cunningham, Gary Lineker, Steve McManaman and Michael Owen – and took his tally since he moved to the Bernabeu in the summer to 13 goals in 13 games. The win took Madrid back to the top of La Liga.
The impact that Bellingham is having on Madrid feels almost other-worldly. In England, we are not particularly used to our players travelling well. Lineker and McManaman were great successes in Spain but neither of them had quite the same transformative effect on their team that Bellingham is having.
Neither of them were just out of their teens, either. Bellingham is something else. When you watch him play, you feel like you are
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