"Bellingham future Ballon D’or winner," "Won't win anything with Maguire" - Twitter reacts as England defeat Scotland 3-1 in friendly
England earned bragging rights over rivals Scotland with a 3-1 friendly win on Tuesday (September 12), with Jude Bellingham at his scintillating best.
It was a dominant performance from Gareth Southgate's men at Hampden Park after a disappointing 1-1 draw with Ukraine prior to it. They were clever in possession and looked a threat throughout, with Bellingham and Phil Foden flourishing.
The Three Lions took the lead in the 32nd minute when a fine pattern of passing was finished off by Foden. He got on the end of Kyle Walker's cross-shot to bury the ball past Scotland goalkeeper Angus Gunn.
Bellingham then stepped up to the plate in the 35th minute and showed his class as he has done in the early stages of his Real Madrid career. The Madrid superstar started a move on the left flank before heading into the box and placing a sublime finish past Gunn.
Scotland got back into the game in the 67th minute and it was more misery for under-fire Harry Maguire. Andy Robertson's cross took a nick off the Manchester United defender and the ball flew past England goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale.
The hosts at Hampden Park were buoyed by the support of fans who were loud throughout the evening. However, they were hushed in the 81st minute when Harry Kane bagged his 59th international goal.
It was a much-improved performance from Southgate's men after their dismal showing against Ukraine. It takes pressure off the Three Lions manager who had been given some flak for his squad selection.
One fan on social media praised Bellingham for his impressive showing:
"Bellingham future Ballon d'Or winner, bookmark it."
Another fan touched on Maguire's own goal:
"Won't win anything with Maguire in the back four."
Here's how Twitter reacted to England's victory over rivals Scotland:
England star Jude Bellingham blows Real Madrid teammates away in his first training session
Bellingham made an £88 million (€103 million) move to Real Madrid from Borussia Dortmund in the summer. He was one of Europe's most coveted teenagers, with the likes of Manchester City and Liverpool also interested.
The 20-year-old has made a blistering start to his Madrid career with five goals in just four games. He's the first player to score as many goals in as many games to start their career at the Santiago Bernabeu since Cristiano Ronaldo.
Bellingham has shone with Los Blancos and he's managing to fill the goalscoring void left by Karim Benzema. He wowed his new teammates in his very first training session with the La Liga giants.
His teammate Dani Carvajal gave a glowing verdict of him and his incredible start to life at Madrid. He said (via GOAL):
"From the first moment when he started training, we looked at each other in pre-season, the veterans... and we said: 'Phew, he knows what he's doing!'"
Carvajal claims that the England international is a complete player:
"You don't see that he's very fast, that technically he's crazy... it's just that he's very complete, he's a finisher, you give him the ball and from the third week, he's understood everyone just by watching. He's very intelligent."
The former Birmingham City academy graduate now has two goals and three assists in 26 games across competitions. He is excelling at both club and international level.