At a glance
- Real Madrid trail Bayern Munich 2-1 in the Champions League quarterfinals.
- Jude Bellingham could start in midfield, and has been endorsed by club legend Luis Figo.
- The Englishman has a negative record against the Bundesliga giants, and therefore needs to level up.
Real Madrid midfielder Jude Bellingham has a score to settle with Bayern Munich, and Wednesday’s Champions League quarterfinal second leg is the perfect chance to balance the scales.
With Aurelien Tchouameni suspended, Alvaro Arbeloa currently has to decide between a Thiago Pitarch-Fede Valverde duo or throwing the number 5 into the heart of the midfield battle.
Galacticos icon Luis Figo has no doubts as to who it should get the nod, saying to AS: “Could it be Bellingham? I think so”.
“He showed in the first leg at the Bernabéu that he came on very well from the bench and that he has more than enough quality to be able to unbalance the opposition and change the result. For me, Bellingham should always be on the pitch. It’s the logical thing to do,” the Portuguese added.
Real Madrid star Bellingham doesn’t have the best record against Bayern Munich
Madridistas can take courage from recent history against Bayern overall. Though the 2-1 loss at home last week was a hiccup, they’ve not lost a tie overall against them since 2012 and have gone unbeaten (with three wins and a draw) at the Allianz across their last four visits.
Yet Bayern are the foe Bellingham has faced the most in his career on 11 occasions. In those matches, he has just four assists and no goals.
On the Los Blancos side of things, it doesn’t look too bad. There are three games that are a win, a draw and one defeat. Bellingham has bragging rights too, given a 2024 UCL semifinal victory that led to the trophy at Wembley in his maiden campaign.
When he took them on in Germany for Borussia Dortmund, however, Bellingham regularly had to lick his wounds.
Bayern pipped him to two German Super Cups and also won the league in all three seasons he spent in the Bundesliga.
Yet it’s the Champions League that matters most. By starting or coming off the bench, Bellingham can be a protagonist and difference maker.
His crashing runs into the box and regular chaos impressed in the first leg. But it remains to be seen if he is picked to start or has the fitness to sustain a high tempo over 90 minutes or possibly more.
