Jude Bellingham unable to showcase his magic as he hosts several of his international teammates in Real Madrid vs Arsenal | OneFootball

Real Madrid faced Arsenal in the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League, and this was only the second time the two teams faced off in an official competition despite being among the top European clubs in the last few decades.

The first time the two teams met each other in the UCL was back in the Round of 16 stage of the 2005-06 season. The Gunners got the better of the Merengues at that time with a 1-0 win on aggregate.

This time around, the English side was once again victorious, but their margin of victory was significantly greater, as they finished the tie with a 5-1 scoreline.

Being a UCL quarter-final tie, this was a special affair for the whole of the Merengue team. However, this match must have been particularly special for the English midfielder Jude Bellingham, who is one of the biggest stars in his country, and who would have been keen to showcase his talents while playing against several of his international teammates in the Arsenal team.

Up to four players who have represented the English national team were playing for Arsenal in this tie, including Declan Rice, Bukayo Saka, Myles Lewis-Skelly, and Ben White, while Bellingham was playing for Real Madrid.

The Merengue star would have been keen to showcase his skills to these players and the visiting English fans, especially as he was unable to make a difference for his side in the first leg despite being one of the better players in Carlo Ancelotti’s team.

However, Bellingham was unable to put his stamp on the game at the Santiago Bernabeu, and like most of his teammates, could not threaten the English side much.

As Sofascore statistics show, he remained on the pitch for the full 90 minutes, but in this time, he got on the ball only 44 times. He attempted a lowly number of 28 passes in this game and completed 22 of these, thus recording a passing success rate of 79%.

He put in 1 key pass, but his only cross into the box was not very accurate, and only 2 of his 4 attempted long balls successfully found their target.

The Englishman was also unable to get on the end of scoring chances as well, and had no shot to his name in this game. Furthermore, he also attempted only 2 dribbles, of which 1 was successful.

Bellingham still showed some grit and passion, winning 7 of the 11 ground duels he was engaged in. However, he was not up to par in the aerial department, as he won only 1 of the 4 aerial duels he participated in during this game. Defensively, he put in 3 tackles and made 1 interception.

Thus, the Real Madrid star was unable to put on an impressive show as he hosted several of his international teammates at the Santiago Bernabeu. Hopefully, he will put this performance and game behind him as soon as possible, and return to help his team get its desired results in the other two competitions, i.e., the Copa del Rey and La Liga.