Jude Bellingham: Decoding his 2023-24 La Liga season in stats
Real Madrid midfielder Jude Bellingham was voted La Liga Player of the Season. The English midfielder joined Real Madrid from Borussia Dortmund last summer in a massive deal. He played a key role in helping the club dominate La Liga. Real also won the Supercopa de EspaΓ±a and are in the UEFA Champions League 2023-24 final. Here we decode the youngster's stats.
Why does this story matter?
Bellingham was voted La Liga Player of the Season as he edged out team-mate Vinicius Junior, Antoine Griezmann (Atletico Madrid), Artem Dovbyk (Girona) and Robert Lewandowski (Barcelona) in votes cast by fans, club captains and a panel of experts. Notably, Bellingham also won the 2022-23 Bundesliga Player of the Season playing for Dortmund before moving to Real for an initial (Β£88.5m).
19 goals and six assists for Bellingham
Bellingham featured in 28 La Liga matches. The former Birmingham City player was utilized in an more advanced role by Real manager Carlo Ancelotti. He scored 19 goals which was the joint-third most alongside FC Barcelona's Robert Lewandowski. Bellingham made six assists and was involved in 25 goals. Vinicius was the only other Real Madrid player to be involved in 20-plus goals (G15 A5).
Breaking down his La Liga 2023-24 season in stats
As per Squawka comparison matrix (data by Opta), Bellingham clocked 49 shots (excluding blocks) with 35 of them on target. He scored the winning goal for Real on seven occasions. 18 of his goals came from inside the box. He created 47 chances and had a pass accuracy of 89.8%. Bellingham completed 1,347 passes out of 1,500 attempted.
More crunch numbers for Bellingham
Take-ons completed: 50 Clearances: 13 Interceptions: 21 Touches in the opposition box: 149 Ground duels won: 162 Aerial duels won: 26 Duels won: 188 Tackles made: 42 Ball recoveries: 118 Hit woodwork: 1 Penalties taken: 1
Bellingham made these records
On matchday 36 in Real's 5-0 win over Alaves, Bellingham became the first player to both score and assist in the same La Liga game for the fourth time in 2023-24 season, more than any other player. On matchday 30, Bellingham became the first La Liga player to reach double figures for both goals (20) and assists (10) this season in all competitions.
Bellingham became first Real Madrid midfielder with this record
On matchday 24 versus Girona, Bellingham scripted history by becoming the first midfielder to score 15-plus goals in a single La Liga campaign in the 21st century (16). On matchday 17, Bellingham became the joint-second-fastest to 13 goals in La Liga, equaling Cristiano Ronaldo (15 matches). Barcelona's Robert Lewandowski holds the record (12). Bellingham became the youngest to do so (20 years, 171 days).
When Bellingham broke Ronaldo's record
Back in October on matchday 9, Bellingham raced to 8 goals after his first 8 La Liga games. Bellingham broke Ronaldo's record, had scored 7 goals in the first 8 league games for Real back in 2009. In September on matchday 4 versus Getafe, Bellingham became the fourth player to score in each of their first four La Liga games (21st century).
A massive record in La Liga opener
As per Opta, Bellingham became the third-youngest player to score in his La Liga debut for Los Blancos in the 21st century, aged 20 years and 44 days. Rodrygo (18 years and 259 days in 2019 vs Osasuna) and Eduardo Camavinga (18 years and 306 days in 2021 vs Celta Vigo) are ahead.
Second-youngest player with this record
On matchday 2, at the age of 20 years and 51 days, Bellingham became the second-youngest player to score in each of his first two matches in La Liga (21st century) after Markel Susaeta in 2007, 19 years and 275 days.
