Carlo Ancelotti sets Jude Bellingham goal target after El Clasico brace

Carlo Ancelotti has backed Jude Bellingham to score "20-25 goals" this season after his game-winning brace in El Clasico.

Bellingham bagged his ninth and tenth La Liga goals of the season already on Saturday afternoon in his first ever El Clasico clash with Barcelona.

Having been largely kept quiet Gavi for the opening 65 minutes of the game, the Real Madrid superstar came alive late in proceedings, scoring a stunning long-range goal to draw his side level before prodding home the winning goal in the 92nd minute.

His ten goals in are already his career best league goal tally - having scored eight for Borussia Dortmund during the 2022/23 season - and speaking to the press after the game, Ancelotti has backed Bellingham to score many, many more throughout the rest of the campaign:

"He can easily reach 20-25 goals. We don't have in mind that he is a scorer or a striker. He is scoring, but we wait for the rest of us to score goals. 

"Bellingham plays like a veteran. He's got a fantastic attitude. We didn’t want a draw and his equaliser changed the dynamic of the game. From then on we had more strength and more energy and they started to show more weakness; until that moment they had been the better side.

"We are surprised with him especially in terms of his effectiveness. He's scored a lot of goals already but what was surprising here was the distance. He hasn't scored a lot from the edge of the area, usually it’s when he arrives from deeper."

Bellingham's match-winning performance has seen Real Madrid open up a four point lead over their arch rivals Barcelona in the La Liga table. Madrid now sit in top spot, while Barca remain in third behind both Los Blancos and surprise high-flyers Girona.

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