Jude Bellingham, the midfielder, netted his eighth goal in nine appearances for Los Blancos, evening the score after Vinícius Jr. had canceled out Leo Østigård’s initial goal for the home side. As result, Real Madrid prolonged its winning streak in the Champions League by mounting a comeback to clinch a 3-2 victory against Napoli on Tuesday.
Bellingham shines as Real Madrid triumph over Napoli. #TV3NewDay
— #TV3GH (@tv3_ghana) October 4, 2023
https://t.co/rHjzxez9Cg
A penalty from Piotr Zieliński evened the score at 2-2 in the second half, but an own goal by Alex Meret, induced by a thunderous strike from Federico Valverde, guaranteed that Madrid left Naples with three crucial points.
Manager Carlo Ancelotti commented, “We delivered a comprehensive and focused performance. Our first-half performance was exceptional, and even after their goal, we efficiently managed the game, created opportunities, and ultimately regained control to score late in the match.”
Despite Madrid’s early scoring opportunities, Napoli seized the lead from a corner, with Natan striking the crossbar before Østigård capitalized on the rebound to score.
In the opening half, Real Madrid responded with a goal as Vinícius expertly capitalized on an opportunity created by Bellingham, who intercepted a loose pass from Giovanni Di Lorenzo.
Bellingham, who has made an impressive start to his tenure at Real Madrid, later increased their lead to 2-1. He embarked on a powerful run through Napoli’s defense, evading a defender, and adeptly slotted the ball past Meret.
The score was leveled at 2-2 when Zieliński converted a penalty following a video assistant review that determined Nacho had possibly handled the ball illegally during a sliding challenge. However, Madrid had the final say when Valverde unleashed a powerful strike from outside the box, with the shot striking the crossbar and bouncing into the net off Meret’s head.
This outcome places Madrid at the summit of Group C, three points ahead of Napoli and Braga. In the meantime, Braga mounted a remarkable comeback from a two-goal deficit to defeat Union Berlin 3-2 on Tuesday, with André Castro scoring the injury-time winner.
Manager Ancelotti showered praise on his recent addition, Bellingham, following the team’s triumph. He expressed, “I’m taken aback by the fact that he’s only 20 years old because he exudes the demeanor of a 30-year-old with his character and attitude. He maintains unwavering focus on the game and possesses an acute understanding of what needs to be done. Such maturity is uncommon for someone of his age. He possesses a wealth of quality, physical strength, and skill. He continues to impress me, as he does everyone else.”
Looking ahead, Real Madrid is set to face Osasuna in LaLiga on Saturday, while Napoli has a crucial Serie A encounter against Fiorentina scheduled for Sunday.
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