Real Madrid thrashed their Austrian visitors, Red Bull Salzburg, with an emphatic 5-1 victory at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium in the seventh round of the Champions League.

This victory improved Real Madrid’s position in the group stage, bringing their points total to 12, lifting them to 16th place, one round before the end of the stage.
According to information from the Spanish newspaper “Defensa Central”, in an unexpected surprise, coach Carlo Ancelotti decided to give exceptional praise to Real Madrid star Jude Bellingham for his outstanding performance in the match against Salzburg.

Although Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo also delivered excellent performances, Ancelotti chose Bellingham as the standout player who contributed significantly to the overwhelming 5-0 victory over the Austrian team.
Although he did not score any goals in the match, Bellingham assisted on the first two goals, making the task easier for the team and playing a crucial role in securing the dominant win.

The newspaper added that Dani Ceballos continues to perform brilliantly, so Ancelotti decided to keep him in the starting lineup for upcoming matches, including those until the end of the season, making him one of the key figures in the team’s midfield.
The Spanish player has shown exceptional form recently and proven that he is one of Ancelotti’s top choices, thanks to his insightful vision and decisive passes that have strengthened the team’s offensive play.

On the other hand, there was another surprising decision from Ancelotti, as he chose to exclude Ferland Mendy from the upcoming La Liga match following his poor performance against Salzburg, despite the team’s big win.
Mendy did not perform at the expected level in the match, which led to him being left out of the coach’s plans for the near future. Despite the dominant victory over a modest opponent, the French player continued to underperform.

In another development, Vinicius Junior made an exciting statement after the match, which sparked enthusiasm inside the Real Madrid dressing room, when he addressed teammate Kylian Mbappe.
“It’s normal for the team to struggle at times during the season after a squad overhaul,” Vinicius Jr. said after the match. “We are helping Kylian to become the top scorer in all competitions.”