Jude Bellingham equalled one of Lionel Messi’s Champions League feats with a wonder assist in Real Madrid’s 5-1 thrashing of Red Bull Salzburg.

The England international was key in the Spanish side’s much-needed victory, assisting Brazilian winger Rodrygo twice in the opening 40 minutes to get the rout underway at the Bernabéu.

However, it was the second assist which was the most memorable with the 21-year-old completing an audacious back-heel which cut through Salzburg’s defence and allowed Rodrygo to curl into the far corner in the 34th minute to put Madrid 2-0 up.

Those two assists pushed Bellingham on a par with eight-time Ballon d’Or winner Messi for Champions League goal contributions for players aged 21 and under, with the England midfielder now achieving 24 (11 goals and 13 assists). At the same age, Messi had recorded 17 goals and seven assists for Barcelona. Bellingham and Messi are joint third on the list.

Manchester City’s Erling Haaland is second with 26 contributions while Bellingham’s Real Madrid team-mate Kylian Mbappé, who scored twice against Salzburg, holds the record with 37 contributions.

Bellingham’s upturn in form has coincided with Real’s improvement as a team, after a slow start to the season in which they faltered in La Liga and the Champions League. Defeats by AC Milan and Liverpool have left the reigning champions loitering in the play-off places but the victory over Salzburg furthers their chances of automatic qualification to the knockout stages.

The three points moved them up to 16th in the table but they are just one point outside the top eight ahead of their final group fixture against Brest so could still reach the automatic progression places.

However, Carlo Ancelotti believes it is nearly impossible for Real Madrid to achieve as they will need to rely on results elsewhere. “I think it’s very complicated, almost impossible to finish in the top eight,” the head coach said.

“There’s so much quality up front, we will never have problems scoring goals. We have to improve defensively; that’s the key to being successful.”

The Champions League’s all-time top five assists

While Jude Bellingham’s assist was undoubtedly stylish, it is unlikely to feature too highly on lists of the greatest Champions League assists. Here, Telegraph Sport ranks our top five.

5 – Andrés Iniesta to Neymar, Barcelona v PSG, 2015

There were nine PSG players and more than 70 yards between Andrés Iniesta and the opposition goal when he received possession deep inside his own half in the 2015 quarter-final. Less than 12 seconds later, Barcelona had scored.

This was a blend of skill, vision and balance. At first, Iniesta swerved between two PSG players to create space for himself near the halfway line. He then skipped past a third defender and surged toward goal, before releasing a weighted pass to Neymar on the edge of the penalty area.

4 – Luka Modric to Rodrygo, Real Madrid v Chelsea, 2022

Real Madrid were heading out of the Champions League in 2022 when Luka Modric produced one of the finest passes of his extraordinary career. Trailing 4-3 on aggregate to Chelsea in the Bernabéu, with only 10 minutes of the quarter-final tie remaining, Modric found space inside the opposition half and produced a moment of magic.

Not only did Modric place the ball in the exact square inch of space that allowed Rodrygo to make a volleyed finish, he did so with the outside of his right boot. The pass arced through the air before dropping at the perfect moment, in the perfect place. Real Madrid were saved, and they went on to win the competition a few weeks later.

3 – Dennis Bergkamp to Freddie Ljungberg, Arsenal v Juventus, 2001

Dennis Bergkamp produced many moments of creative genius during his time at Arsenal, and this assist for Freddie Ljungberg was one of his very best. As bodies rushed around him, time seemed to slow down for the Arsenal playmaker, who had received the ball on the edge of the penalty area.

Surrounded by Juventus defenders, Bergkamp used a remarkable combination of moves to find space. There was a step-over, a pirouette and then a stylish drag back. And, at the end of it all, Bergkamp somehow flicked the ball into the air and into the path of Ljungberg.

2 – Kaka to Hernán Crespo, Liverpool v AC Milan, 2005

Kaka, the great Brazilian attacking midfielder, ended up on the losing side in the most remarkable Champions League final of all time. The nature of Liverpool’s comeback, from 3-0 down, means that the Milan player’s outrageous assist is often either underplayed or forgotten entirely.

The final scoreline should not detract from the beauty of Milan’s third goal. It was a moment that showed the brilliant best of Kaka, who at the time was perhaps the finest player on the planet.

Receiving the ball with his back to goal, in his own half, Kaka spun past Steven Gerrard with a delightful turn and then unleashed the perfect through ball that carved open the Liverpool defence. Hernán Crespo finished with a fittingly stylish dink.

1 – Trent Alexander-Arnold to Divock Origi, Liverpool v Barcelona, 2019

Perhaps the most famous corner in Champions League history. Liverpool had fought back from 3-0 down to level with Barcelona in the semi-final tie of 2019, and the second leg was approaching the final 10 minutes, when Liverpool won the corner that made a legend of Trent Alexander-Arnold and Jürgen Klopp.

Assisted by a quick-thinking 14-year-old ball boy, Alexander-Arnold whipped a low delivery into the path of Divock Origi before anyone in a Barcelona shirt had realised what was happening. It proved to be the decisive moment of the semi-final. Liverpool went on to defeat Tottenham Hotspur in the final in Madrid.

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