Jude Bellingham, 19 years old, was once more in Seville Borussia Dortmund’s captain (in the absence of Marco Reus) and the side’s most important factor in their 4-1 win.
That’s all you ever needed to know about a player and his team.
For all of the young Englishman’s reliable brilliance — especially his long, diagonal, left-footed pass that unlocked the Spaniards’ defence ahead of the sixth-minute opener by Raphael Guerreiro and his own, fantastic goal four minutes before the break — there’s something a little troublesome about a young kid from Birmingham being utterly indispensable to the second wealthiest club in Germany.
Inconsistent, unfocused, sloppy and meek, BVB have come to represent the exact opposite of Bellingham’s attributes, which in turn explains why they have appointed him second captain and increasingly rely on his all-round quality and resilience to carry others. He was also named man of match on Wednesday night.
It’s a testament to him that he not only thrives on this huge responsibility, but Dortmund wouldn’t be doubting their own mettle every other week or so, if one or two more players in this wide were as dependable. “My team are not stupid but they tend to forget things all the time,” coach Edin Terzic lamented before kick-off.
It was a 3-2 defeat at 1. Dortmund lost 3-2 at 1.
They succeeded, but not as convincingly as the scoreline suggests.
