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Real Madrid midfielder Jude Bellingham has responded to a high compliment from legend Toni Kroos following their 3-2 win over Almeria on Sunday, January 21.
Los Blancos came from behind to beat La Liga's bottom-placed side Almeria at the Santiago Bernabeu. Largie Ramazani gave the visitors a surprise lead within the first minute of the game before Edgar Gonzalez doubled it in the 43rd minute.
Bellingham scored from the penalty spot in the 57th minute to make it 2-1. Sergio Arribas looked to make it 3-1 four minutes later but his goal was ruled out due to a foul in the buildup. Vincius Jr (67') then restored parity for Real Madrid. Dani Carvajal stunningly won the game for his side in the ninth minute of stoppage time.
After the game, Bellingham shared a post on his Instagram account with the caption:
"This club. This stadium. This team. Different! #HalaMadrid 🤍"
Kroos commented under the 20-year-old midfielder's picture:
"This mentality with 20 is another level!"
Bellingham responded to the comment, writing:
"Learning from the best."
Bellingham has been one of the signings of the season, having arrived at Real Madrid from Borussia Dortmund for a reported €103 million last summer. He has scored 17 goals and provided seven assists in 25 games across competitions, also helping them win the Supercopa de Espana.
Carlo Ancelotti reflects on Real Madrid's performance against Almeria
Los Blancos came into the fixture on the back of a disappointing 4-2 loss after extra time against Atletico Madrid in the Copa del Rey Round of 16. They had played 120 minutes twice within 10 days, either side of an El Clasico.
Carlo Ancelotti, though, chose not to make any rotation for their clash against Almeria and it backfired. Real Madrid put up a lethargic performance and found themselves 2-0 down at half-time. They made a big comeback but were far from their best.
After the game, Ancelotti reflected on his side's performance, saying (via Managing Madrid):
“It was a strange game. We played very poorly in the first half, with little energy. The evaluation I made was wrong, a tired team played and we did very poorly. Then the character of the team in our stadium made us come back from a difficult game with a totally different second half.”
With the win, Real Madrid kept pressure on leaders Girona in the La Liga title race. They are second, a point behind the top with a game in hand.
