Poor Jude Bellingham was surprisingly the subject of a strange campaign from certain corners of the English media during his week away with the Three Lions. Fortunately, the Spanish press recognise his talent is less worthy of inflammatory sh*t-stirring, particularly with Real Madrid lingering from one crisis to another in recent weeks.
Pressure is already mounting on head coach Xabi Alonso despite a fairly positive start to life in the Bernabeu dugout, with the uncertain future of star winger Vinicius Jr one of the main talking points. Results are starting to slide a little too - their 1-0 defeat to this Liverpool team in the Champions League a fortnight ago has already aged like milk.
On Sunday, Madrid made the trip to Elche, whose fast start to life back in La Liga has slowed in recent weeks, yet they still gave a decent account of themselves during this clash at the Estadio Manuel Martinez Valero. Aleix Febas gave the hosts a surprise lead at the start of the second half, before Bellingham's header from a corner was turned in by Dean Huijsen to pull Los Blancos level.
When Alvaro Rodriguez put Elche back in front with six minutes to go, it appeared Madrid would be crashing to defeat, but Bellingham tapped home the second ball from a free-kick after his initial effort was denied to ensure it ended 2-2 and rescue a late point for the visitors.
Bellingham was not the only England international to prove his worth to Madrid, with Trent Alexander-Arnold also turning some doubters into believers with his wicked deliveries from set plays, even despite his haphazard defending. MARCA, who gave the right-back a rating of 8/10 when Bellingham only got a 7, wrote: "Honestly, his set pieces are a real treat. He's delivering the ball with flair... and Madrid is getting something out of every attack. The Englishman takes a long-range shot and it sails high. He gets caught out of position for Elche's 1-0 goal. All of Madrid's danger stems from a Trent cross. A low, powerful ball that hits the crossbar. He's everywhere. And another set piece... and a Madrid goal."