Enjoying it a lot: Jude Bellingham is thriving at Jose Mourinho’s Real Madrid

Jude Bellingham is thriving in a more flexible role under Jose Mourinho, with the England midfielder producing another top performance as Real Madrid maintained their perfect start to the LaLiga season. Bellingham scored in Sunday’s 4-0 win over Mlaga at the Bernabeu, with two goals and two assists in three games.

The 22-year-old opened the scoring in the 19th minute with a low finish from the right, before being involved in Madrid’s second as his pinpoint header proved too tricky for Mlaga’s defense to keep out. Speaking to Real Madrid TV after the match, Bellingham explained why he enjoys Mourinho’s tactical freedom.

“I’m a little freer now, I have the freedom to move further up and go down deep if we need to.

“I enjoy it a lot. That’s why I play well.”

Bellingham had already scored in Madrid’s opening 2-1 win at Espanyol before setting up two goals in a 4-1 win over Real Sociedad. His latest performance continued a strong start to life under Mourinho, with the midfielder appearing increasingly comfortable operating in different areas of the pitch.

BELLINGHAM GAVE FREEDOM TO ATTACK

Mourinho encouraged Bellingham to resist dropping too deep, particularly into defensive positions on the left side, while still allowing him to drop back when the situation called for it.

“He is very demanding of himself and others,” Mourinho said. “I told him that because of the way I see football, I don’t want to see him play as a second left-back.

The Real Madrid boss also pointed to Bellingham’s tendency to drop into deeper areas during his side’s Champions League win over Madrid with Benfica and insisted the midfielder now understands what is expected of him.

Bellingham’s attacking influence was again evident against Mlag, while his performance earned a standing ovation when he was substituted in the 87th minute.

“It’s always very special,” Bellingham said. “It’s an honor to play for this club in this stadium. The ovation was really nice.”

MOURINHO HAPPY WITH MADRID’S ATTACK

Mourinho was also encouraged by the understanding between Bellingham, Kylian Mbappe and Vincius Junior. The trio were given more freedom to combine, with Mourinho rejecting suggestions that their styles could be incompatible.

“Very good players want to play together,” Mourinho said. “All I can see is that they’re all really good.

Madrid’s strength in depth was also on display as Mourinho made five changes to his starting XI, bringing in Marco Cucurella, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Antonio Rdiger, Eduardo Camavinga and Brahim Daza.

“We’ve got a really strong squad, a great squad, with quality everywhere,” Bellingham said.

Real Madrid will next face Real Betis in LaLiga on September 4 at La Cartuja in Seville before opening their Champions League campaign at home to Inter Milan on September 8.

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Issued by:

Debodinna Chakraborty

Published on:

31 Aug 2026 07:58 IST