'Saint Jude' Bellingham rescues Real Madrid again with late goal

Real Madrid has a reputation for staging nail-biting last minute winners, and it seems that they now have just the guy to deliver the goods. New summer signing Jude Bellingham rescued Los Blancos on Saturday night against Getafe. He scored a stoppage time winner in their crucial first home game of the season to inaugurate the opening of the newly renovated Santiago Bernabeu Stadium.

Real Madrid played their first three matches of the 2023--24 La Liga season away from home in order to allow workers to complete the work on their home ground that has been going on for almost four years.

The home match against Getafe is the first to be played in the completed stadium (save for some finishing touches) and the noise from the cheers of the home fans was booming inside the high tech retractable roof.

Early scare for Real Madrid

Everyone at Real Madrid was expecting a fairly easy win against their city neighbours Getafe, but it was one of their own who dealt a big blow to shock the hosts. Former Real Madrid striker Borja Mayoral took advantage of a sloppy pass from Fran Garcia to David Alaba and managed to give new Real Madrid keeper Kepa Arrizabalaga something to have nightmares about. Kepa's Bernabeu debut turned into a nightmare as Mayoral managed to beat him within the first eleven minutes.

It was a sloppy play from the Real Madrid defence, with Mayoral managing to outwit everyone including Antonio Rudiger.

Jude Bellingham thought he won a penalty midway through the first half, but a lengthy VAR review revealed that he stretched his leg to solicit contact. The penalty call was overturned, and it was back on the back foot for the hosts.

Luka Modric made an attempt that flew over the bar, and it soon became clear that Carlo Ancelotti needed to make adjustments.

The classic Real Madrid 'remontada'

The introduction of midfield maestro Toni Kroos proved to be the game changer for Real Madrid, and it took Joselu only two minutes to find the equaliser in the 47th minute. A lengthy VAR check cut the excitement a little bit, but the stadium roared with approval after the goal was finally confirmed.

After that, Getafe could hardly make it out of their half as the hosts piled on the pressure. Kroos managed to hit the post and even tried again with the rebound, but man of the match David Soria managed to keep the German frustrated.

However, it soon became a quiet evening for Kepa, with much of the action at the other end of the field. Real Madrid held on to over 75 per cent possession, making it a lopsided affair. Rodrygo's torpedo was denied by the crossbar, and Soria managed to keep out several more shots before finally conceding five minutes into stoppage time.

After a stellar evening, Soria made a mistake by spilling the ball after saving a shot by Nacho, and Bellingham did not need any invitations to pounce on the opportunity. The Englishman struck the back of the net on his Santiago Bernabeu debut, to the delight of the home crowd.

Bellingham's record means that he has now scored in every match played for the club so far, and he has played an instrumental role in maintaining their 100% record of four wins out of four games in La Liga. He is also the league's current top scorer with five goals to his name.

Real Madrid start the season strong without Benzema, Vinicius Jr. and Thibault Courtois.

Earlier this month, no one could have predicted such a positive start to Real Madrid's season after losing captain Karim Benzema to Saudi Pro League side Al-Ittihad early in the summer.

Then, first-choice keeper Thibaut Courtois was sidelined by an ACL injury, followed closely by a similar issue with Eder Militao. Then, Brazilian forward Vinicius Jr. also suffered an injury to his right hamstring, giving Carlo Ancelotti a lot to figure out. However, they have started the season in great form, with Bellingham proving to be the star signing of the season so far.

Meanwhile, Getafe confirmed the arrival of Mason Greenwood from Manchester United on Friday, but he wasn't made available yet on Saturday. It remains to be seen when he will be able to finally play a competitive match after an 18-month suspension.

La Liga will go into the international break after this weekend with Real Madrid firmly on top of the table with 12 points.