Ancelotti’s Farce of Pulling Jude Bellingham Deep is a Farce That Must Be Changed

Jude Bellingham is a “shadow of himself”. He had a lacklustre performance in Real Madrid’s forgettable El Clasico.

WHAT HAPPENED?

The England star has been criticised by the Spanish press after a lacklustre performance in Real Madrid’s 4-0 defeat to Barcelona on Saturday at the Santiago Bernabeu. Spanish newspaper Marca said that Carlo Ancelotti’s use of the 21-year-old on the right wing, and sometimes in a more defensive position against Barca, was a “bad joke”. They believed that Bellingham, who spent most of last season as an attacking midfielder, should never play in that position again.

WHAT DO THE SPANISH MEDIA SAY?

“Bellingham is a shadow of the player who caused a sensation at the Bernabeu last season. And it’s not his fault, it’s the way he’s being used. Every day he’s playing in a position he’s not used to and, despite his best efforts, he can’t shine. Playing him on the right wing, or even at full-back for long periods, is a bad joke that [Carlo] Ancelotti must fix immediately. The fact that a player who scored almost twenty goals last season hasn’t scored a single goal as we approach November is something that needs to be seriously analysed.”