Promising start for Real Madrid and Bellingham

Real Madrid got off to a flying start to the new campaign with a comfortable 2-0 win away to Athletic Bilbao in a La Liga first round clash. Rodrigo (28') opened the scoring for Los Blancos this season, while new signing Jude Bellingham (36') marked his official debut with a goal.

As expected, Carlo Ancelotti changed his formation from the previous 4-3-3 to the 4-3-1-2 he will impose in the new campaign. The Italian coach also made a few changes to his usual starting line-up from last season. Andriy Lunin was in goal because of the serious injury of Thibaut Courtois. In defense, the inclusion of left back Fran Garcia, who returned to the team, was the most curious.

In midfield, the experienced Toni Kroos and Luka Modric were absent, but there were Federico Valverde and Edouard Camavinga, who last season often played in other positions. Bellingham was the link between midfield and attack. The attack lacked a typical central striker after the departure of Karim Benzema, with Ancelotti instead relying on the Rodrigo-Vinicius Junior tandem. On the other hand, the hosts lined up in a 4-2-3-1 with Ignacy Williams as the 'nine'.

Real Madrid players came out for their warm-up with special kits dedicated to Courtois. Their message was: "Lots of strength, Thibault!" The match itself began at a leisurely pace, with the only shot in the opening 15 minutes being Valverde's inaccurate one. In the 24th, David Alaba had a shot that was saved by Unai Simon. Four minutes later, Rodrigo combined with Daniel Carvajal and with his shot sent the ball into the near corner of the goalkeeper, giving his team the lead.

In the 35th minute, Vinicius had a great opportunity to double the visitors' lead, but Simon blocked his shot. However, seconds later they went for a second goal anyway. At the execution of a corner, the ball reached Bellingham, and the midfielder made a shot, in which it described a beautiful trajectory and became unsalvageable for the opposing guard. In their next attack, the Basques tried to close their gap. Lunin then caught a ground shot by Unai Gomes, who in the meantime was taken down with a split by Eder Militao. The hosts asked for a penalty, but VAR refused to give one.

The start of the second half was marred by an injury to Militao which saw Antonio Rudiger forced into the game. Meanwhile, Ernesto Valverde made three changes at the break. The move gave the Lions more initiative, but not their chances. However, this suited "Los Blancos", who reached a situation for another goal only in the 68th minute.

Valverde then fired wide from a free-kick. Shortly after, Simon tackled Vinicius with a jab. The hosts finally came close to scoring in the 72nd minute, but then Rudiger cleared the ball in front of goal after a shot from Oihan Sunset. In the remaining minutes, Simon saved shots from Rodrigo and substitute Modric, while Sunset and Aitor Paredes missed an honorable goal for their team.

 

ATHLETIC BILBAO - REAL MADRID 0:2

 

0:1 Rodrigo (28')

0:2 Bellingham (36')

Athletic Bilbao: Simon, De Marcos, Vivian, Paredes, Lecue, Gallareta, Vesga, N. Williams, Gomes, Muniain, I. Williams

Real Madrid: Lunin, Carvajal, Militao, Alaba, Garcia, Valverde, Camavinga, Chuameni, Bellingham, Rodrigo, Vinicius