Like Bellingham for Real Madrid, the Spurs No 9 could take Ten Hag’s side to another level – so United’s lack of ambition is baffling
It was a quite brilliant angled run from deep. Jude Bellingham saw the space and made a dash for it as Antonio Rudiger sprayed a pinpoint raking pass over the top. Raphael Varane was holding the line, looking to play offside, but Aaron Wan-Bissaka had dropped behind the rest of Manchester United’s back line and suddenly Bellingham was through.
His first touch was perfect, taking the ball square from where he lifted it nonchalantly over the advancing Andre Onana on the edge of the penalty area. Karim Benzema, Real’s long-standing centre-forward until his departure for Saudi Arabia last month, would have been proud of the finish.
There is a reason why Jude Bellingham was the most coveted midfielder in the world this summer and the quality of his first goal in Real Madrid colours underlined as much and provided a tantalising glimpse into a future that promises so much.
By the end of the first half, Lisandro Martinez had resolved that the best way to stop the dynamic England midfielder was to pile through him. His lunging tackle, which carried shades of his crude challenge on Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka four days earlier, drew another booking and an angry reaction from Bellingham. “That’s four times,” he told referee Lukasz Szpala. Four times he felt United had been guilty of fouling him and wanted that registered in the official’s mind.