Napoli fell at home. Bellingham contributed a goal and an assist to Real Madrid’s narrow win in the Champions League

One of Tuesday’s matches of the second round of the Champions League group stage was the clash between Napoli and Real Madrid. After an interesting battle, the visitors from Spain are celebrating. The home side eventually lost an unfortunate goal which fell after a rebound off the goalkeeper’s back. Jude Bellingham scored and assisted.

The visitors had the first big chance at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona. In the sixth minute, Rodrygo escaped the opposition defenders on the right and fired in a close range shot. Goalkeeper Alex Meret made a successful save.

The offensive-minded Italian team was initially defensive. At the end of the opening ten minutes, Bellingham sent in a telegraphed shot, followed by an inaccurate header from Tchouaméni after a corner. Moments later came the strike after a corner kick at the other end of the pitch.

The Campania metropolis has been struggling with earthquakes lately, as was the case on Tuesday night. But under Vesuvius, the stands shook in the 19th minute of the match not because of seismic activity, but because of an eruption of enthusiasm from the home fans. It was caused by a header from stopper Leo Østigård, who got the ball after Nathan’s header and subsequent rebound off the crossbar.

Eight minutes later, however, Real equalised at 1-1. Bellingham picked out a cross from Neapolitan captain Di Lorenzo, crossed it to Vinicius Junor, who shot just wide of the far post.

In the 34th minute, Jude Bellingham was already among the scorers himself, as his individual run through a sloppy Partenopei defence ended in a goal. It didn’t take long for the White Ballet to turn the score to 1: 2.

But from a dangerous area, Osimhen’s header was saved by Kepa Arrizabalaga with a quick save in the 39th minute. Soon after, the Spanish goalkeeper also dealt with a not-so-fierce attempt from Politano from just outside the sixteen.

Nine minutes after the half-time break, the game was level at 2-2. Piotr Zieliński scored from a penalty, which the referee, after watching the video, awarded for Nacho Fernández’s hand. The Polish midfielder was also helped by the left post.

A buoyant Napoli then created some interesting pressure, for example in the 56th minute Kvaratskhelia shot just wide of the target. After that, Zieliński forced the Madrid keeper to intervene. Carlo Ancelotti reacted to the second-half developments with two substitutions after an hour of play. Kroos and Camavinga were replaced on the pitch by Modric and Mendy.

It was Luka Modrić who started the action in the 74th minute, which resulted in a promising shooting opportunity for Vinícius Junior. However, he did not beat Meret and the header by Bellingham was not accurate.

In the 78th minute, Real came significantly closer to victory. Federico Valverde’s shot from distance, after a defensive run, hitting the crossbar and bouncing off the goalkeeper’s back, found the net.

In the end, it was the decisive shot. Despite a partial final push, Napoli could not find another answer and lost 2: 3. They have three points. Real Madrid won for the second time and are now on six points.

In Group C, Tuesday’s programme also saw a 2: 3 result in the match between Union Berlin and Braga. The Portuguese team’s win was decided by a substitute Castro late in the second half.

Source: UEFA, Premier Sport 2