Jude Bellingham might have said "f*ck off." He might also have said "f*ck you." Neither is a particularly good thing to say to a referee. Anyone who has played competitive sport - at any level - might understand that these things happen in the heat of battle. There are limits - there should always be limits - but Bellingham's passion has been analysed, re-analysed and, frankly, over analysed.
And it is on that principle that it becomes necessary to analyse Bellingham's impact on Real Madrid - or, more accurately, what's missing when he's not on the pitch. it was assumed, for some time, that in Vinicius Jr and Kylian Mbappe, Los Blancos had pretty much all they needed to swat opponents aside. Midfielders come and go, but world-class, Ballon d'Or-contending, match-winning forwards are almost unique.
As it turns out, football is more complex than that. A look at the past couple of months has shown that Madrid can live with a suspended Vinicius, can cope with an injured Rodrygo, and can dip deep into their academy to cover in defence. What they cannot do, though, is figure out how to win when Bellingham is not on the pitch. And with him again suspended for the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie with Atletico Madrid - this time for accumulation of yellow cards, rather than abusing an official - they simply must snap that streak.
