Jude Bellingham Continues To Impress — But Is He Overburdened?

These observations — where I look at Real Madrid’s history, its players on loan, Castilla, tactical tidbits, and other relevant thoughts — are now a regular thing. All previous editions can be found here.

Bellingham, Overtasked?

In a vacuum, Jude Bellingham has been incredible in Real Madrid’s opening two games of the season against Atalanta and Mallorca. Against Atalanta, he put together a highlight comp that will be re-shared all season. Against Mallorca, what he did wasn’t as flashy, but it was none-the-less impressive.

Only the Mallorca performance did not result in a collective win, and there were so many other non-positive talking points that arose, that zooming in on Bellingham playing well is not something that took precedence by the media.

Bellingham might just be Real Madrid’s cornerstone. No one else in the team is tasked with his role. He creates, tracks, breaks lines, plays the final ball, and roams as a free-roaming outlet wherever the team needs him. His defensive interventions on the left wing are key in helping Ferland Mendy play defense on a flank where he won’t get help from Vinicius Jr and Kylian Mbappe.

After the opening matchday in La Liga, of all players in the country, Bellingham played the most progressive passes (14) and was joint-top in completed tackles (five). He has been ridiculous as a two-way presence. It’s hard to imagine where Real Madrid would’ve been without him in past 12 months (and counting).

Bellingham always seems to make the right pass out of pressure:

Bellingham has hit the ground running for the second consecutive season. What does that mean for his energy levels by the end of next summer? Can he sustain these relentless bursts of energy? He is superhuman. So, maybe.

The question is whether or not Real Madrid can help alleviate the load on him. In the second clip of the above video, Vinicius loses the ball, and Ancelotti immediately points to the left flank asking for his players to sprint back and cover. None of the attackers seem interested, and Bellingham sprints past a jogging Rodrygo to zip up the wing and help win possession. It is at times, all on him — but it shouldn’t be.

Finding Balance

One of the challenges of fitting Mbappe and Vinicius together is finding the right defensive balance:

As we pointed out in the above video, Real Madrid shouldn’t have much problem finding that defensive balance behind their two attacking superstars. Regardless of who the third attacker is, whether it’s Bellingham, Brahim Diaz, Rodrygo, or Arda Güler — all of those players track and press. Having three attackers who don’t defend is highly problematic. But if the third attacker sacrifices for the greater good, it should allow more freedom for Mbappe and Vinicius.

Fans have to remember that there is design to this madness. Vinicius and Mbappe not defending is, in part, down to Ancelotti needing them to be ready as outlets to burn through opponents in transition.

Rodrygo, generally, is highly reliable when it comes to defensive work rate. But if there are games where either him or the third attackers start missing defensive assignments, the team will have defensive breakdowns like the aforementioned video in this article.

Under the current blueprint, Ancelotti defends in a 4-4-2, with Bellingham on the left wing and Rodrygo on the right. But scrambling into that formation when the ball is lost can be challenging, especially with the fluidity of the front three, as well as Bellingham, who has a free role on offense. Clamping back into a specific shape is not easy, and, for that reason, it would not be surprising if Ancelotti starts looking at inserting an extra midfielder instead of rolling with a 4-3-3 in certain games.

Keep in mind that Eduardo Camavinga solves a lot of this, and Ancelotti has hinted that if not for his injury, the Frenchman would’ve been a starter against Atalanta. Camavinga’s tracking, and the amount of ground he covers, would help with a lot of the issues we saw in Mallorca.

Still, relying on that can’t be the only solution. Players are injured and suspended all the time. The system must continue. It can not fall apart because of a Camavinga injury, and, even when he returns, it’s easy to see him playing as the team’s single pivot in a lot of games where Tchouameni will have to cover as center-back.

It all falls back on the third attacker. Fair or unfair, Vinicius and Mbappe will defend little. The onus is on the remaining players to ensure everything stays in tact.