Jude Bellingham underwhelmed on his return to English soil as Liverpool bossed Real Madrid in the Champions League with Alexis Mac Allister coming up with the matchwinner at Anfield
They booed almost every touch of Jude Bellingham at Anfield.
Maybe they are still hurting by the fact their club bowed out of the race for his signature in the summer of 2023. Or maybe it was to try to put off a player they know all about having wished he would come here when he was departing Borussia Dortmund.
But last night the Real Madrid star was upstaged by the midfielders who did sign for Liverpool in that transfer window and one of their very own.
It was Alexis Mac Allister who got the goal here while Ryan Gravenberch and local boy Curtis Jones were the electricity in the midfield for the Reds to make it a miserable first appearance at Anfield for England star Bellingham.
The Three Lions midfielder spoke before the game about how he felt he was made the scapegoat for Gareth Southgate’s side in the aftermath of their Euros final failure against Spain in July.
It was refreshing and honest to see a player open up on the reasons why he has felt down about playing for his country before getting his “smile back” in the most recent internationals.
He hardly has to prove himself to anyone given the fact he did carry England at times in the tournament on the back of a remarkably impressive debut season for Real.
But he no doubt will have wanted to make a point to those critics with a performance back on English soil in his first game on the Anfield turf.
Yet this wasn’t it. Bellingham was not the only one to blame in white, of course. This isn’t making him the scapegoat here at all.
Kylian Mbappe missed a penalty and looked a shadow of the player many argued was ready to take the throne of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo as the best in the world.
But Bellingham will be surely be disappointed with his display against a side he considered joining just over a year ago.
Jones and Gravenberch brought the energy that Bellingham so often does while Mac Allister provided the game-defining moment the England ace made a habit of so often last season.
Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
Learn more
