Real Madrid are off to the best possible start to the new season as they defeated Atalanta 2-0 in Warsaw to win the UEFA Super Cup last night.
After a lacklustre first period, Real Madrid really turned on the style in the second half with the golden trio of Jude Bellingham, Kylian Mbappe, and Vinicius Jr. starring with brilliant displays.
Vinicius and Bellingham got the assists for the two goals, with the latter setting Mbappe up for his first goal as a Real Madrid player.
Bellingham happy with Mbappe connection
There were signs of great understanding and a burgeoning partnership between the England and French internationals and Bellingham hopes that they can continue to thrive together.
“I expected it [Mbappe to score], of course. He is a player who is able to write his own history. He always does well for his teams, today too,” said Bellingham.
“It’s great to have been involved in his first goal and I hope to give him more assists.”
Further discussing the experience of sharing the pitch with the French superstar, Bellingham added:
“It was incredible. I thought so before and now that I’ve had the chance to play with him…. He’s a leader on the pitch, how he communicates. We’ve been talking about him coming here for a while. It seems like he’s been with us for a long time.”
“It was destined for Kylian to score tonight. He’s one of those brilliant players, so elegant, with so much technical quality… A great teammate too. He works for the team, like the others,” he added.
Bellingham on his position
Having played as an advanced midfielder or even as a false-nine at times last season, Bellingham had to move to a new role yesterday, operating as a part of a three-man midfield.
And, the England international insisted that he is ready to play wherever manager Carlo Ancelotti asks him to, saying:
“I will do whatever Ancelotti wants. I’ll play anywhere, no problem. The coach trusts us to get the feel for the positions. When I need to, I can go higher up and, when I need to, I can come and help in the build-up.
“Fortunately I’ll always be involved in helping the team to win and that’s the most important thing for me.”
On whether playing deeper will hurt his goal tally, Bellingham added: “I don’t mind where I play. I wasn’t really a striker either. I dropped a bit to the left and moved around that position. Football flows and it depends on the team you are playing against.
“I know it’s easier to score goals if you’re closer, but what makes me happy is helping the team.”
On the team performance
Bellingham also discussed Real Madrid’s performance on the night, admitting that the first half was not the best as the players were still getting adjusted to one another.
“We have a renewed team. Tonight it seemed to work, sometimes it takes a bit of time. In the first half, we were still adjusting, but in the second half everything went well and we were brilliant. We have to enjoy nights like tonight,” he remarked.
The Player of the Match also heaped praise on Atalanta for the way they played, especially in the first 45 minutes, saying:
“We had seen them play in the Europa League several times. They make it very difficult for you. They disorganised us, especially in the first half. I admire Gasperini’s work a lot. He has young players.
“It was a difficult week because we knew they would come out with a lot of intensity. In the second half, they opened up a bit more, but they were an incredible opponent”
The midfielder also gave an update on his physical condition, given that there have been concerns about his shoulder, saying:
“I feel fine. During the pre-season, I was wearing prevention. At the end of the season it had bothered me and the protection helped me. But I have to trust in the work I’m doing with Pintus and the other professionals.
“Anything can happen in football. What I want is to focus on playing as well as possible and not to focus on the man.”
Source: AS