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Jude Bellingham is in for a Liverpool shock - he's never experienced anything like this
Jude Bellingham has experienced a lot in his young career. But as the Real Madrid and England superstar prepares to take on Liverpool for the first time, he has been warned that he's about to face something unique.
Bellingham was heavily linked with a move Liverpool before his departure from Borussia Dortmund in the summer of 2023. But as he explained on the eve of tonight's massive Champions League match at Anfield, he only had eyes for Real Madrid.
The move has certainly worked out for the 21-year-old, who won a La Liga and Champions League double in his first season at the Bernabeu. That said, the Reds have also shrugged aside any disappointment at missing out on Bellingham.
READ MORE: 'I'm sorry' - Carlo Ancelotti addresses Trent Alexander-Arnold potential transfer from Liverpool
They added another piece of silverware to the cabinet in Jurgen Klopp's final campaign in charge while his successor Arne Slot currently has the Reds sitting top of the Premier League, through to the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup, and boasting a perfect record in this season's new-look Champions League group stage.
Four wins out of four sees Liverpool in a great position to progress to the round of 16 without the need for a play-off. Holders Madrid, in contrast, have lost two of their opening four games and sit a lowly 21st, four points off the all-important top-eight places.
With injuries hitting hard, Bellingham is going to have to be at his brilliant best to help Real get the victory they desperately need against a Reds side who are flowing with confidence thanks to their superb start to life under Slot.
But a former Liverpool Champions League winner believes the Birmingham City academy graduate is in for a surprise. "He obviously played in front of 80,000 every week in Dortmund, which is special, but Champions League nights at Anfield, it's something different," said Didi Hamann, whose arrival off the bench helped inspire the famous 2005 final win over AC Milan in Istanbul.
"If somebody came to me and said, 'I want to watch one game, one Champions League game, where do you have to go?' There's no two opinions. There's only one place where you have to go. Champions League nights when the lights are on at Anfield, especially against Madrid, what a game.
"Anfield is special and I think he would have seen a lot in the last three or four years, but I don't think he's experienced anything like he'll experience on Wednesday."
The Reds' 3-2 win at Southampton on Sunday extended their advantage at the summit of the Premier League to eight points. It was also their 16th victory in 18 matches in all competitions since Slot replaced Klopp in the hotseat.
While Madrid arrive on Merseyside having won back-to-back La Liga games, with Bellingham scoring his first goals of the campaign in both, they are still struggling to adapt since the summer arrival of Kylian Mbappe.
And Hamann said: "It's a good time to play Madrid. I don't think Mbappe has improved them. I think they've got too many stars, or too many players who want to shine, and not enough players who make others better. Somebody's got to do the work.
"The player who's probably suffered the most after the arrival of Mbappe is Bellingham. He scored a hatful of goals before Christmas last season. He played pretty much as a centre-forward because they didn’t have one, and now he’s got to do some dirty work, because you can’t have four players not defending - three is probably too much.
"Mbappe and Vini (Vinicius Jr) don’t do it, Rodrygo sometimes does. It can't function. You can't defend with six or seven players. It's impossible. You might beat teams in La Liga, but you won’t beat the best teams in Europe.
"Obviously, they've got great individual quality, but I think there's a lot of question marks about the team. I don't see them defending the title
"I've got to say. I think the new Champions League format is brilliant. We've got a game now where there's a lot at stake. Liverpool are in a very strong position. It probably means more for Madrid than for Liverpool, because Liverpool will probably qualify automatically as part of the top eight. I do fancy Liverpool. I've got to."
The Reds have been boosted ahead of the showdown by the return of Trent Alexander-Arnold to full training. While he will not start this evening, the right-back could play some part, which adds another intriguing subplot to the narrative surrounding the match given he is transfer target for Real Madrid .
"The question is if Trent wants to go abroad," said Hamman to Genting Casino about the England international, whose contract runs out in the summer. "A lot of Englishmen in my time didn’t go abroad. I think (David) Beckham was one of the first, Michael Owen went, and he came back after one season.
"If he wants to go abroad or if he says, 'yeah, I'm open to it', which the way he's talking, I think he is, I think it's very hard to turn down Real Madrid. If you get the chance most players have to take it because the big clubs don't usually come back.
"It's similar with Bayern Munich. If Bayern Munich want you, and you turn them down, they won't come back. You probably only have one chance. You talk about royalty; Real Madrid probably is the biggest club.
"Liverpool have a good chance of winning the Champions League again in the next five years, but that doesn’t mean he can’t win it with Real Madrid either. The longer it goes on, the more likely it is he’s going to leave. I don’t think you can fault him if Real Madrid come calling."
