Bayern Munich is becoming a personal matter for Jude Bellingham. The team he has faced the most in his career and never beaten. Despite swapping the shirt of Borussia Dortmund, with whom he lost two German Super Cup finals and a Bundesliga title on the final matchday, for that of Real Madrid, with whom he played his worst game of the season at the Allianz Arena.

Bellingham's record in the first leg of the Champions League semi-finals plummeted. It is a competition in which he is looking to recover his brilliance after starting it by beating his personal records by scoring in the first four games he played for Real Madrid.

The stoppage-time winner against Union Berlin; at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium in Napoli, against whom he also scored at the Bernabeu; and the goal to seal the visit to Braga. All in the group stage. Since the play-offs began, Jude has not scored again. Despite that, he played his part in producing a key goal at the Etihad and turning the tide of the penalty shoot-out with his spot-kick.

He put Manchester City to the sword and took the first thorn out of the team that had knocked his side out of the Champions League in the past. The second and most significant is Bayern, whom he never beat in 9 matches of which he lost in 7, with the German club's name in the hardest moments of his career to digest. He was left on the verge of success. 

The English midfielder's revenge, to reach his first Champions League final, has a date and time at the Santiago Bernabeu. With the aim of making up for another forgettable game at the Allianz, where he barely made any contribution. 

 

May 8, 2024

Not a single shot on goal (his average is 2.2 shots per game in the competition), not a successful dribble (his average is 2.4), committing up to 7 ball losses.

Carlo Ancelotti, who usually leaves Bellingham on the pitch until the end whatever his level and has often rewarded his decision with injury time goals, did not wait on this occasion to take him out of the game. After 75 minutes he replaced him. His player did not break the lines as he usually does. From making 26 successful runs with the ball, he went down to 16. From four touches in the opponent's box, to one. He did not connect with Brazilians Vinicius and Rodrygo.

These are statistics that Real Madrid's coaching staff keeps a close eye on. Ancelotti and his assistants. They have been working with the player over the last few days, correcting movements at the Valdebebas training complex that put too much wear and tear on Jude's physique, which is no longer as imposing as it was at the start of the season. 

Ancelotti justified the slump in Munich by a virus suffered by Bellingham a week before the game. Instead of resting him for the whole game against Cadiz, he played him for the last half hour in order to recover his confidence. He did just that, scoring a goal to give him a boost ahead of what is already a personal challenge against Bayern. In 10 Champions League knockout matches, he only scored in one game. His sporting revenge comes with a great score to settle against his bogey side.