La Liga 2023/24: How Atlético Madrid will aim to deal with Real Madrid’s Jude Belingham – tactical preview

This weekend, La Liga will display the first iteration of the 2023/24 Madrid Derby, with both teams having relatively different starts to the season. Atlético Madrid have had somewhat of an up-and-down start to the season, with the side managing to win two games, one of those being a very convincing win against Rayo Vallecano, but have also lost one and drawn one game so far. Real Madrid, on the other hand, have been in imperious form, winning all of their first five games thus far. 

One of the most significant reasons for their stellar form has been Jude Bellingham, with the Englishman scoring six goals in his first six games as well as assisting 1. Through his spell at Dortmund, Bellingham showcased himself to be perfectly capable of executing his defensive duties but also showcased his ability to get the team forward through progressive passes and progressive carries.

Former assistant coach of Borussia Dortmund, Renè Maric, described the midfielder as Zidane in small spaces and Gerrard in big spaces. At Real Madrid, however, so far, Bellingham has shown a knack for finding space in the box for slotting away and poking chances goalwards. 

This tactical preview will provide a tactical analysis of how Carlo Ancelotti has utilised Bellingham so far this season and how Atlético Madrid can set up to prevent the midfielder from increasing his goal-scoring tally as well as influencing the game. 

How has Bellinghams role changed? 

Although it is still very early on in this season, it would still be fascinating to see from a data perspective how Bellinghams role has changed from last season to the current campaign. 

The first view of Bellinghams heat map strongly suggests that the midfielder is active across the middle third and the final third in central and wide areas, particularly on the left-hand side, but less so in his own half. This is a slight contrast to where the Englishman was active in his time at Dortmund. As seen below, throughout the course of last season, Bellingham was more active on the ball in his own half and the middle third than he was in the final third.