1 goal, 1 assist: Jude Bellingham once again proves to be the game-changer for Real Madrid | OneFootball

Real Madrid returned to action after their Christmas break and started 2025 with a win against Valencia. This game was set to take place some weeks ago but was postponed due to the DANA floodings which devastated parts of Spain, including Valencia.

There is no doubt that this was a very important win for the Merengues, and the three points obtained from this win take them to the very top of the La Liga table with 43 points, 2 more than the second-placed Atletico Madrid, although the Colchoneros have a game in hand.

However, even more than these important three points, this win will be memorable for the Los Blancos fans for the way it was obtained.

Real Madrid did not put in a performance to remember in the first half of the game and were behind on the scoreboard as they went into the half-time break. Their former striker, Hugo Duro, had given Valencia the lead in the 27th minute, and it looked highly likely that Carlo Ancelotti’s men would return to the Santiago Bernabeu empty-handed.

This feeling intensified as the second half went on. Only a few minutes after the resumption of the game, Kylian Mbappe was brought down inside the box by Tarrega, and the referee gave a penalty to Real Madrid. Bellingham stepped up to take the spot-kick, and after a hopping run up, ended up hitting the woodwork.

This penalty should have been retaken both because there was a Valencia player inside the box before Bellingham had hit the ball and also because the goalkeeper, Stole Dimitrievski, was off his line. However, the referee decided not to whistle for a retake.

But things were going to get even worse for the Merengues. Only five minutes later, Bellingham was once again in the thick of the action and put in an exquisite ball for Kylian Mbappe to latch on, beat the keeper with a step, and put the ball into the empty net. However, this goal was ruled out for a marginal offside on the Frenchman.

Then on the 79th minute, things truly reached the boiling point. Vinicius went to the ground when challenged for the ball by a Valencia defender, but the game continued. Meanwhile, Dimitrievski approached the Brazilian to taunt him with a pat of the neck, to which Vinicius reacted and shoved the goalie.

The Valencia goalkeeper went to the ground to get the referee’s attention and succeeded in this endeavour. The official went to consult the VAR, where he was shown only Vinicius’ reaction and not the original provocation, and decided to show a red card to the Real Madrid superstar.

In such a boiling context, the Merengues continued to fight from a goal behind and with one man less than their opponents. Carlo Ancelotti brought on Luka Modric for Dani Ceballos, and only five minutes after his entry in the game, the Croat latched onto another excellent ball by Bellingham into the Valencia box to poke the ball behind Dimitrievski and to equalise the score for his side.

The referee decided to add 9 minutes of injury time and Real Madrid were rewarded for their patience in the final minutes of the game. In the 6th minute of injury time, the Valencia defender Hugo Guillamon found himself suffocated by three pressing opponents and sent a rather timid pass back to his goalkeeper.

However, this pass was never going to make it to Dimitrievski, as Bellingham intercepted it, and made no mistake before putting the ball in the back of the net with a composed finish.

Thus, the Englishman was at the centre of all the notable offensive actions from Real Madrid in this game. He did miss his penalty but created the goal that was scored by Mbappe but was chalked off for offside. Then he created Modric’s goal before himself putting the last one into the net to give his side the lead in the very last minutes of the game.

In total, Sofascore statistics note that he also gave 2 key passes, one of which was converted by Modric while the other was missed. He also completed 3 of his 3 attempted long balls and won 8 of his 11 attempted ground duels. Defensively, he also made 3 interceptions and 1 clearance and was undoubtedly the Man of the Match for this game.

With this heroic performance, the Englishman continues to write his legend in the Real Madrid history books, and there is no doubt his contributions will be essential for the Merengues in this second half of the season.