Real Madrid beat Pachuca 3-1 in the Club World Cup to get their first win under Xabi Alonso, and their second win over their opponents this season.
Jude Bellingham opened the scoring for Real Madrid, and it felt like such a relief.
Bellingham was instrumental once again, especially after the red card, as he dictated play with his passing and movement.
The Englishman's defensive contributions were also hard to ignore, as he had to track back more to support the defense a bit more than usual.
Last season, Bellingham was all over the pitch, quite literally. He had to play everywhere, and he had no defined role or position, which was slightly frustrating.
Jude Bellingham drops quiet message about his ideal Real Madrid role
The player was asked about it after the match against Pachuca, and he revealed his favorite position or role to play at the club.
He said: "It’s hard to say, I prefer to be involved in the game, touch the ball a lot, rather than being open, I think that’s what we saw in the first season, that’s where I see myself best.
"Being an eight or a 10 [is good], but the coach knows more about football than I do and he decides.”
Alonso was very vocal about Bellingham being a midfielder, and talked about his starting point as a player on the pitch.
These quotes do not seem like a dig or Bellingham's way to force action - it is just talking about where he likes to play, and that is it.
In these two games, Bellingham has been involved in midfield more. He has not had to deal with playing out wide, and the Englishman has strictly been playing in the midfield, with a license to move forward.
It has been going well so far. Bellingham has registered a goal already, and he was good against Al-Hilal in the previous match.
With more games under his belt playing for Alonso, combined with the shoulder injury, Bellingham should look even better in the future.