Real Madrid survived a grueling match with Espanyol to open the 2026/27 La Liga season, and the hero of the night was Jude Bellingham, who picked up the official Man of the Match honors after scoring the opening goal with a beautiful header from nothing - and he nearly scored another great headed goal from a set piece later in the match.
Out of the superstar trio of Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Junior, and Bellingham, only Jude actually showed up on Saturday night, as Vinicius Junior created zero chances off the left while Kylian Mbappe wasted all 10 of his shooting opportunities with no goals for the team.
In this matchup, Jose Mourinho started Jude as a No. 10 after there was a lot of offseason debate about his role, with Bernardo Silva and Fede Valverde forming a double pivot behind him while Arda Guler got the nod on the right side of the attack.
Real Madrid will suffer without Jude Bellingham scoring
Speaking to reporters after the game at the press conference, Mourinho confirmed that his plan is to continue to play Jude as a 10, even admitting if he plays Jude further back, Real Madrid will lose valuable goals.
Mourinho said, “Bellingham? The ‘10’ is his role. He scores goals, he has to play close to the area. If he plays as 6 or 8 we will lose his goals. He is top.”
Real Madrid can't afford to lose those goals. They barely beat Espanyol 2-1 and needed Carlos Espi and Jude Bellingham to scrap those goals, and, again, if it were not for Jude's towering presence and quality finishing with his head, Real would have 100 percent dropped points to Espanyol. And if they were down 1-0 without Jude's goal, it is doubtful Espi would have had that scoring opportunity to win it anyway against a true Espanyol low block at 1-0.
Bellingham was nearly the Pichichi winner in 2023/24 as an attacking midfielder before Kylian Mbappe's arrival to the Santiago Bernabeu, and Real Madrid won both the Champions League and La Liga last season.
Jose Mourinho knows that very well, so there is precedent for Real Madrid succeeding at the highest possible level with Jude in that No. 10 role. He is an amazing 6 or 8, but as Mourinho said, Real Madrid cannot afford to lose those goals, especially with how badly they are suffering as an attack right now despite their other big names.
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