Jude Bellingham enters Champions League history books: Decoding his stats
Jude Bellingham continued to make his presence felt for Real Madrid. The young England midfielder was on the scoresheet for the third UEFA Champions League game of the season as Los Blancos beat Braga 2-1 away. Rodrygo handed Real the lead before Bellingham scored in the 61st minute. Braga pulled one goal back two minutes later but Real held on. Here are the details.
Three goals in three successive UCL games
On matchday one, Bellingham scored the winner in the 94th minute as Real eked out a 1-0 record over Union Berlin. On matchday two, Real sealed a 3-2 win over Italian champions Napoli as Bellingham scored his side's second goal. As mentioned above, on matchday three, the versatile midfielder netted Real's second against Braga.
Bellingham scripts history for Real
As per Opta, Bellingham has become only the second player in Champions League history to score in each of his first three games for Real in the competition, after Christian Karem in the 1997-98 campaign. Besides his three goals in the Champions League, Bellingham has also bagged eight in La Liga. He has amassed 11 goals in 12 appearances for Real, claiming three assists.
Real claim this record
Real have now won three successive opening matches in the Champions League for the second season in a row and for the second time ever (also in 2013-14 and 2014-15).
How did the match pan out?
After Rodrygo's first-half opener, Bellingham found the bottom corner with a curling finish to clock 12 goals in 15 matches for club and country this season. Alvaro Djalo pulled a goal back for Braga but Real held on to occupy top place in Group C. Vinivius Junior saw his goal get ruled out for offside late on.
