Jude Bellingham Reflects on Real Madrid's Narrow Champions League Win
Jude Bellingham walked off the pitch at the Bernabéu with three points in his pocket and frustration written all over his face.
Real Madrid had opened their Champions League campaign with a 2-1 win over Inter Milan on Tuesday night, but the scoreline told only part of the story. For long spells, the European giants were dragged into a fight by the Italian champions, and Bellingham did not try to dress it up.
“We struggled at times against a very strong team,” he admitted afterwards. “They are deserving Italian champions, and there were moments when we made them suffer, especially on the counter-attacks, when we were passing the ball well.”
Madrid had chances to kill the game. Clear ones. They let Inter hang around, just as they had done against Real Betis at the weekend.
“Something similar happened against Real Betis at the end of last week, when we failed to take our chances,” Bellingham said, pointing to a pattern that is starting to irritate him as much as it worries his coach.
He knew this one should have been put to bed much earlier.
“We could have finished the match with an easier scoreline,” he reflected. “We had chances, myself included, but in the Champions League there are bound to be difficult moments.”
Those difficult moments came late, with Inter sensing a route back and Madrid forced into long, nervous clearances. Even so, Bellingham refused to turn it into a defensive inquest. One goal conceded against a side of Inter’s calibre, he argued, tells its own story.
“We conceded only one goal, and the defenders were excellent, but big teams find gaps in our defence. And Courtois was brilliant. Not everything was bad, but there is still room for improvement. The most important thing is the three points.”
If the team display was mixed, his own night in front of goal left him gnashing his teeth. Twice he thought he had done enough. Twice he watched Inter’s goalkeeper rip the moment away.
“I thought I was going to score,” he said. “The first time, the goalkeeper suddenly appeared. The ball reached me and I said to myself: ‘It’s a goal.’ But he cleared it suddenly.”
The second chance hurt just as much.
“The second time, I saw the ball a little late, and there were players in the middle, I tried to control it and struck it well. But once again, the goalkeeper saved it superbly.”
Those are the fine margins that define Champions League nights. One clean connection, one touch earlier, and the narrative flips from frustration to dominance. Instead, Madrid had to suffer to the end.
“It’s frustrating, because it would have made things easier for us if I had scored, but it’s part of the game,” Bellingham concluded. “On another day, these shots will go in.”
Madrid have their win. They have their warning, too. The question now is whether they turn those narrow escapes into statement victories as this European campaign gathers pace.
