Mick Jagger and Ronnie Wood sat in the grandstand. The Rolling Stones logo was embroidered onto Barcelona’s jerseys, all part of a one-off sponsor-led gimmick to put some vintage rock ‘n’ roll into El Clasico. As it turned out, a younger English superstar had the best tunes. He got two goals and was the matchwinner on his debut in the most celebrated fixture in club football.
Jude Bellingham, for Real Madrid, is Midas. He was becoming that already, but he was sensational against Barça and the architect of a comeback that left the better team for most of the match as losers, and sent Real back to the top of La Liga.
Bellingham’s thunderous drive to equalise had already provided one breathtaking moment. His second goal, when there was not enough time for Barça to respond, left the Olympic Stadium dumbstruck.
That’s 13 goals now for Bellingham in as many games for Real. “We didn’t think of him as this much of a goalscorer,” the Real head coach Carlo Ancelotti admitted, recalling his July assessment of the 20-year-old midfield recruit. “We have been surprised by him, above all by how clinical he has been. He is making the difference so often. He can get to 20 or 25 goals this season.”
The brace at the Olympic Stadium, where Barcelona are hosting games while the Nou Camp is renovated, ensures Bellingham has an eternal place in Madridista affections, with this being the fixture that matters most.
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It was away in Catalonia too, and the hero eased himself stylishly into a tradition that Real like to imagine is particularly theirs: the stirring late comeback. “He has a great attitude, goes about things like a veteran,” Ancelotti noted. “We weren’t looking for just a draw, and the equaliser changed the dynamic.”
When Bellingham, meeting a Dani Carvajal cross that Luka Modric steered onto him, added his second goal, the Barça head coach Xavi shook his head in disbelief. Xavi thought, with some justification, his men had largely controlled the game.
They had taken the initiative from the outset. Ilkay Gundogan needed just five minutes of his first Clasico to exchange passes with Ferran Torres — the move aided by a hesitant intervention from Aurelien Tchouaméni and David Alaba launching a rescue tackle too late — to register his first Barça goal.
Gundogan had a busy first half. Barça had no deep midfield sentry, with Frenkie de Jong injured and the anchor Oriol Romeu on the bench, to specifically monitor Bellingham. Its early success meant that by the 18th minute Ancelotti was summoning Bellingham to the touchline to order a rejig. The gist of the briefing: that he should push further forward.
The comeback would take a while and only the woodwork prevented both Fermín López and Iñigo Martínez from doubling Barca’s lead.
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But gradually, Real established a firmer grip. Tchouaméni had a long-range drive palmed away by Marc-André ter Stegen. Bellingham then showed his team-mate how to really shoot from distance, with his 12th goal in a Real jersey struck with a magisterial confidence. “That goal was superb,” Ancelotti purred. “And his second was all about being sharp. What was surprising with the first one was that he hasn’t scored a lot from that sort of position, normally it’s when he’s arriving in the box.”
The thunderbolt drive was celebrated with gusto, a flex of the biceps and a grab of the badge on his jersey. Bellingham hadn’t finished. Deep into stoppage time, he put Real top of the league. And in the VIP seats, two Rolling Stones perhaps wished it was their band, not the other ones, who hold the copyright on Hey Jude. It’s the favourite new anthem of Madridistas.
Star Man Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid).
Barcelona (3-4-3): M-A ter Stegen 7 — R Araújo 6, A Christensen 6, I Martínez 7 — J Cancelo 7 (L Yamal 75min), Gavi 8, I Gundogan 7, A Balde 6 — F López 7 (O Romeu 71), F Torres 6 (R Lewandowski, 60; 6), J Félix 7 (Raphinha 75). Booked Torres, López.
Real Madrid (4-4-2): K Arrizabalaga 7 — D Carvajal 7, A Rüdiger 6, D Alaba 6, F Mendy 6 (E Camavinga, 51, 7) — F Valverde 6, A Tchouaméni 6, T Kroos 6 (L Modric 62, 7), J Bellingham 8 — Rodrygo 6 (Joselu 62, 7), Vinícius 7 (Lucas 90+5). Booked Carvajal.
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Referee J Gil Manzano.
