Bellingham Reacts to Maradona Comparisons After Dazzling Display Against Napoli

Bellingham Reacts to Maradona Comparisons After Dazzling Display Against Napoli

Chukwu Ikechukwu
updated at October 4, 2023 at 10:10 AM
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  • Jude Bellingham has played down comparisons with Diego Maradona
  • The Real Madrid midfielder’s solo goal helped beat Napoli in the Champions League
  • Bellingham has scored eight goals in nine appearances for Real Madrid

Jude Bellingham’s brilliant start to his Real Madrid career has already seen the Englishman being compared to one of football’s greatest-ever players, Diego Armando Maradona.

The 20-year-old midfielder produced one of the goals of the season, driving through the Napoli defence with a solo run to give Los Blancos a 2-1 lead against the Serie A champions.

Jude Bellingham, Real Madrid, Liverpool, La Liga, English Premier League, Manchester City
Jude Bellingham finishing off a nice solo run to give Real Madrid a 2-1 lead against Napoli in the Champions League. Photo by Pedro Castillo
Source: Getty Images

According to GOAL, Bellingham responded to the comparisons to Maradona by playing them down after his brilliant goal against Napoli.

"That's a bit too much. It was a nice goal. From what I've seen on YouTube and documentaries, his [Maradona's] quality was a bit more than mine, or a lot more. I'm just trying to contribute in a Jude way."

Following his £88.5 million summer transfer from Borussia Dortmund, Bellingham has already scored eight goals in nine matches for Real Madrid, proving to be one of the best signings of the season.

Ancelotti in awe of Bellingham’s brilliance

Meanwhile, Carlo Ancelotti has admitted to being "surprised" at Jude Bellingham's skill after the midfielder's match-winning Champions League performance against Napoli, Eurosport reports.

Bellingham assisted Vinicius Jr. before scoring a fantastic solo effort that has been compared to Diego Maradona's individual heroics.

Taking the ball on the edge of the centre circle, the England international raced to the penalty area, beating many Napoli players along the way, before cutting back onto his right foot and curling the ball into the far corner.

Bellingham matches Ronaldo’s UCL record

Earlier, Sports Brief reported that Bellingham equalled Cristiano Ronaldo's tally for the most consecutive matches scored in their first Real Madrid UEFA Champions League games - two.

However, the midfielder will need a goal in the game at Braga to equal the feat set by French midfielder, Christian Karembeu, who scored in his first three UCL appearances for Los Blancos.

To top off the night, Bellingham was awarded the MOTM award, making it six in his last nine games.

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Chukwu Ikechukwu
Chukwu Ikechukwu Godwin is a journalist with over 9 years of experience in the Nigerian media industry. He has worked both in Radio (Today FM, Rhythm FM, Wish FM) and Television (Silverbird TV) as a Sports Analyst..
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