Bellingham’s backheel goal adds two Champions League milestones to his Real Madrid record

Jude Bellingham strengthened his standing among Real Madrid’s leading stars with a stylish backheel goal against AEK Athens that brought him two notable Champions League landmarks.

The England midfielder struck in the 28th minute of Wednesday evening’s fourth-round league-phase match, turning in a cross from team-mate Marc Cucurella with an improvised finish.

The goal was Bellingham’s 10th for Real Madrid in the Champions League, achieved in his 37th appearance for the club in the competition, according to Opta.

He is now only the second midfielder to score at least 10 Champions League goals for Real Madrid. The first was Jose Maria Gutierrez, better known as Guti, who scored 16 times in 97 matches.

Bellingham also joined an exclusive group of English players to have scored in each of the past seven Champions League seasons.

According to MisterChip, he has found the net in every campaign since 2020-21. His run began with two seasons at Borussia Dortmund before continuing with five seasons at Real Madrid.

Only Phil Foden has a longer scoring sequence among English players in Champions League history. Foden has scored in nine consecutive seasons, beginning in 2018-19 and continuing through the current 2026-27 campaign.

Bellingham’s latest goal therefore placed him alongside the Manchester City midfielder in one statistical category, while Foden remains the English record-holder for the longest uninterrupted run.