Jude Bellingham reacts to Lisandro Martinez pre-season friendly bust-up

  • Bellingham was involved in a scuffle with Martinez
  • Martinez faced criticism earlier this summer for a fierce tackle on Arsenal's Bukayo Saka
  • The England international scored the opener in Real Madrid's 2-0 win over Man Utd
Bellingham wasn't happy
Bellingham wasn't happy / Tim Warner/GettyImages
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Jude Bellingham has revealed he made peace with Lisandro Martinez after their heated on-pitch scuffle in a pre-season friendly.

Bellingham and defender Martinez squared up during Real Madrid's 2-0 win over Manchester United in Houston after the Argentine leaped aggressively into a challenge, ploughing down Bellingham in the process.

After an exchange of words and some pushing and shoving from both sets of players, Martinez was shown a rare pre-season yellow card for his efforts.


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Speaking to the press after the game about the incident, Bellingham insisted that it was water under the bridge after the Man Utd star wished him well later on.

"The little tiff with Martinez is one of those things," Bellingham explained. "He is a brilliant player. I came in at half-time and I was effing this and effing that. But when he came over to wish me all the best when he came off, I really respected it. I know what goes on the pitch stays on the pitch.

"I saw him at the end of the game and wished him well. I can respect that when two players are trying to win their team and can come together and be respectful after the game. He is a great competitor and a great player. Just like me, he wants to win.

"Sometimes it spills over. That is part of the game. I am really respectful. We can have that moment after the game."

Bellingham also got on the scoresheet for his new club during the game, delicately dinking the ball over Andre Onana to make it 1-0 in the first half. There was more than a hint of offside about the goal however, as the England international also admitted:  "It did feel as though I went a little bit early.

"These days you have to play to the whistle because you never know. As I was running over, I saw the linesman and his flag stayed down so I just carried on with the celebration. If it is offside, so be it but it is still a goal."


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