Jude Bellingham grateful for faith Jose Mourinho is showing in him

The England international scored against Espanyol on the opening day of the season before providing two assists against Real Sociedad as Los Blancos began the 2026/27 campaign with two wins from their opening couple of games.

According to Bellingham, Mourinho is deploying him in a new role he is more comfortable with, allowing him to get back to his best form.

"I feel more free again, more free to decide when to drop back, when to stay up or when to get into the box," he said.

"I think this is the best position for me, the one that allows me to show all my qualities. I'm really grateful to the coach for trusting me to play this way."

While Bellingham has been one of the better players for Real Madrid so far in the early season, he was quick to credit his teammates for making life easier for him.

"It was more about instinct in truth. I think Kylian's movement is what made the goal; all I had to do was put the ball in a good area for him," he said.

"And since he's so fast, he catches most balls, and his finish was brilliant too. For both goals, their movement made the difference.

"I still had some energy left in the match, and we were going through a good moment where everyone was full of adrenaline and we were pressing excellently.

"My shot was saved and I wanted to press high to win it back, and I think that's one of the most important things in football when you lose the ball; to try to win it back as quickly as possible.

"I dribbled and Vinícius was there, so I passed it to him and he gave me a big hug saying 'thanks,' and that's all there was to it."

The England star acknowledged the importance of them getting off to a good start in the league as their schedule will get much tougher once the Champions League gets underway.

"It's very important to build momentum. Now we have a tough stretch with the start of the Champions League, the matches are piling up and it's good to have made a good start," he said.

"A lot of new people have arrived, they have to settle in, and we have to keep going like this.

"We're in a good moment and everyone has the adrenaline flowing. We're pressing well, and one of the most important things is recovering the ball quickly when you lose it."

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