Bellingham 'a little bit too nice' in Real Madrid goal drought

Jude Bellingham suggested he had previously "done a bit too much" for his Real Madrid team-mates and "been a little bit too nice" after ending his goal drought.

England superstar Bellingham scored 23 times for Madrid in all competitions in the 2023-24 season, his first with the club.

But prior to their 4-0 win over Osasuna in LaLiga on Saturday, he was yet to get off the mark for this campaign.

Bellingham netted Madrid's second goal, with a Vinicius Junior hat-trick accounting for the others, yet he is still lagging behind the efforts of previous seasons.

The 21-year-old has played 1,118 minutes this term, having netted every 158 minutes in his debut Madrid campaign.

Bellingham has not underperformed against his expected goals total across a season since marginally doing so for Borussia Dortmund in 2020-21, but his sole goal in 2024-25 has come from chances worth 3.1 xG.

His shot conversion rate of 4.35% is comfortably a new low at Dortmund or Madrid, too.

Those numbers come with the context of Bellingham's altered role in the team, however, as Carlo Ancelotti makes room for star signing Kylian Mbappe in the XI.

@BellinghamJude: "It was our most complete performance."#RealMadridOsasuna pic.twitter.com/UXvdf2HFHT

— Real Madrid C.F. (@realmadriden) November 9, 2024

"A lot of people were talking about it because last year I scored loads of goals," Bellingham told Real Madrid TV of his goal drought. "But I think I'm playing a different role this year. I'm doing different things in different parts of the pitch.

"It's one of those things, I'll do anything for the team. Maybe I've done a bit too much and been a little bit too nice.

"From now on, I think I'll get a feeling for it, and I'll try to carry on, but if not I'll keep trying to help the team in any way I can."

Bellingham scored from one of two attempts against Osasuna, taking his fifth Opta-defined big chance of the season, while he laid on the assist for Vinicius' opener.

"I felt like I did what I normally do," he explained. "But the only difference is that I managed to add a goal."