Jude Bellingham insists he can be a 'leader' for Real Madrid aged just 21 after overcoming 'anger' to star in rollercoaster victory over Valencia

Bellingham starred in a wild win for Real over Valencia. Having gone down to 10 men following Vinicius Junior's sending off, Real mounted a late comeback from 1-0 down, as Luka Modric equalised and the England midfielder netted in injury time. The goal came on the back of a penalty miss earlier in the second half, and he has admitted that he had to shake off his "anger" at hitting the post from 12 yards.

Bellingham says, though, that he knew he was playing well, so never doubted his ability to hit the back of the net. Real now sit two points clear of second-placed Atletico Madrid, although their city rivals have a game in hand.

Speaking to Real Madrid TV, Bellingham said: “When you have this badge you can never give up. With the missed penalty my teammates could have blamed me, but they encouraged me and consoled me. We showed the character of Real Madrid with 10 players. We stood up for ourselves and got three huge points for the league.

“Apart from the goal and the assist, I played well. I had a good rest with my family and I came back with a lot of desire and determination. That's why the penalty didn't affect me because I knew I was playing well. It's nice to score the winning goal, but it's more important that we perform like this. I want to be a leader in the team and I showed that tonight.”

He added: “It was a crazy game. It's so difficult when the team pushes itself so hard and misses a penalty. I felt like I had let the team down and I was angry with myself. I had to concentrate because these things happen. My teammates were amazing. Brahim worked hard on the assist and Lucas got away; it was a group effort. It was a goal from the whole team and Kylian's pass just had to go in.”

Real Madrid face Deportivo Minera in the Copa del Rey on Monday before playing Mallorca in the Supercopa de Espana semi-final on Thursday.