- Bellingham scores in 1-0 win over Union
- Sixth goal in six games for Madrid
- Midfielder developing winning mentality
WHAT HAPPENED? Madrid got their Champions League campaign off to a victorious start thanks to Bellingham's 94th-minute winner at the Santiago Bernabeu on Wednesday night. His tap-in from Federico Valverde's deflected strike was his sixth goal in six matches since moving to the Spanish giants this summer. After the match, the England international was asked about his last-gasp goal, something he was over the moon about, and the club's winning mentality.
WHAT THEY SAID: The 20-year-old told TNT Sports: "Yeah, I am not going to lie I'd much rather keep scoring in the 90+ than the 15th - even though it might take a bit of strain off me heart and the fans' hearts."
On Madrid's elite mindset, he replied: "That's the history of the club. I am new to the club but I've had a TV since I was little and from, I can't remember what age, I've been watching Madrid complete comebacks and I am thinking 'There is no chance and it is not possible', but when you are around those players every day that have been part of those triumphs in the past you just pick it up and it rubs off on you. I think if you don't have it they sniff it out of you."
Bellingham has gone from playing at Birmingham City to Real Madrid in three years, just a few months after his 20th birthday. Stories like this do not happen particularly often, and the youngster is well aware of that.
When asked if the move to Madrid was as special as he expected, he replied: "More. More. Goosebumps talking about it now. I am so grateful to be at this club. I talk about the players and the staff, the mentality that they have and the quality they have. On the flip side with the fans, as you arrive into the stadium they flock in in thousands outside just to get a glimpse of the bus and then at the game they are there before the warmup. You don't really understand how big this club is until you play for them and I have got that honour and I will always wear it with pride."
THE BIGGER PICTURE: Bellingham has hit the ground running since his £89 million ($112m) transfer from Borussia Dortmund. Not only is he finding the net for his new team, he is becoming a match-winner. He scored the only goal in a late win over Celta Vigo in August, earlier this month he scored a 95th-minute goal to help beat Getafe, and he scored again, this time in the dying embers of the match against Berlin. At this rate, he could go on to be one of England's most successful players to play abroad.
IN A PHOTO:
Getty ImagesWHAT NEXT? Bellingham will be back in action for Real when they face Atletico in a Madrid derby in La Liga on Sunday, September 24.
