Jude Bellingham’s latest incredible achievement for Borussia Dortmund was only slightly tarnished by a familiar face.
The 19-year-old Englishman put in another fine performance in the Champions League, captaining his side as he scored and assisted in a 4-1 win over Sevilla.
Becoming the first-ever Englishman to wear the armband in the competition as a teenager, Bellingham’s lavish pass for Raphael Guerreiro provided the opener, before he followed it up with a run and a mazy finish.
Not always known for his goalscoring ability, Bellingham has added another string to his bow in Europe, scoring three times in three games this season, leaving the world’s biggest sides lining up for his signature.
It also puts him on an exclusive list of just two teenagers to score in the first three rounds of a Champions League campaign.
And the former Birmingham star’s reaction was priceless when he found out who the other one was.
When asked after the game if he knew the other player to achieve the feat, Bellingham mused: “English teenager or any teenager?
After the interviewer told him, ‘any teenager’ he guessed ‘[Kylian] Mbappe? only to be told, “You know him very well.”
“Erling,” Bellingham replied before rolling his eyes sarcastically.
“Yeah, sure. I can’t get anything on this guy right now, I swear to God.
“The summary !”
The two were great friends during their time together in the Bundesliga, regularly appearing in hilarious YouTube videos for the club’s channel.
But after the Norwegian superstar sealed a move to Man City in the summer, Bellingham still couldn’t walk away from him after being drawn into the same Champions League group.
Their first meeting of the campaign at the Etihad saw Bellingham open the scoring, before a stunning acrobatic finish from Haaland sealed a late 2-1 win.
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“F*** sake mate,” were Bellingham’s first words to his former teammate after the game, and he regretted his friend’s quality when asked after the game.
When told that Man City’s first shot on target was their late equalizer, he replied: “Are you kidding me! You’re kidding me, stop!
“That’s what big teams can do to you, and that just shows his [Haaland’s] quality.
“He’s not always in the game, but you give him a half sniffle and he can score a goal, and he did.”