Jude Bellingham scores and assists as Real Madrid beat Almeria 3-2 | OneFootball

Real Madrid ace Jude Bellingham shone for Los Blancos as the Englishman inspired a 3-2 win over rock-bottom Almeria with a goal and a last-gasp assist as they retained their status as league leaders.

Former Manchester United starlet Largie Ramazani shocked Carlo Ancelotti’s side, opening the scoring within the first minute with a coolly taken finish into the top left corner. The Santiago Bernabéu attendees were left shell-shocked by the Belgian - and matters were only made worse two minutes shy of the interval.

The home said then trailed by two goals as a mistake from Madrid captain Nacho Fernandez allowed Edgar Gonzalez to fire Almeira in front going into the break. Ancelotti wouldn't have been best pleased with his outfit's first-half display, but it's safe to say that the European titans came out firing on all cylinders in the second half of the affair.

Madrid pulled one back from the spot as Bellingham, who has been on fine goalscoring form since his summer arrival, scored from the spot. Despite his effort being initially chalked off by VAR, Vinícius Jr then drew proceedings level in the 67th minute after a consultation with the video officials.

In last-gasp fashion, Dani Carvajal - assisted by England superstar Bellingham - sealed all three points for Ancelotti's imperious side in the dying embers of the game. As the clock struck 99 minutes, the Spanish right-back snatched victory for the hosts.

Bellingham shines once again for Madrid

The Englishman has now scored 14 La Liga goals

There's hardly ever a weekend that goes by, permitting Madrid are in action, in which Bellingham doesn't steal the show, is there? Taking to Spanish life like a duck to water, the 20-year-old, who is already a permanent fixture in Gareth Southgate's England set-up, has now taken his league-leading La Liga goal tally up to 14, ahead of the likes of Borja Mayoral, Alvaro Morata, Antoine Griezmann and Artem Dovbyk, who follow in 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, respectively.

Historically, British footballers have found adjusting to life overseas a difficult task - but not for Bellingham. Not only has he scored the most goals domestically, he also tops the charts for Spain's top flight in terms of overall WhoScored rating. Madrid's dramatic win over bottom-placed Almeria will be one that could change the course of their season, and they have the former Borussia Dortmund ace to thank.

In a game which required someone to step up to the plate and perform, Bellingham was on hand. He scored his first penalty for his current employers as his scuffed penalty down the middle of the goal was enough to give the hosts a layer of hope with Almeria shot stopper Luis Maximiano being wrong-footed in the process. Bellingham, the coolest man in the stadium, ensured to give his side something to scream and shout about.

Inarguably his biggest part to play in their emphatic triumph came in the 99th minute. The Birmingham City graduate rose above Gonzalo Melero like a salmon to nod the ball across the face of the goal. A hungry Carvajal managed to bulge the net after nudging the ball home, but it was all thanks to Bellingham that his last-gasp heroics were there for the taking.

VAR controversy strikes in Real Madrid vs Almeria

Almeria midfielder: 'I feel that we’ve been robbed'

It took just 12 minutes after both teams emerged from the tunnel for the second half for VAR to be front and centre of the encounter as Almeria's Kaiky was punished for a handball call in the penalty box by referee Francisco Jose Hernandez, which the visiting side were left aggrieved by. Moments later, Almeria had a goal ruled out after Ramazani, their scorer of their first, was adjudged by the officials to have palmed Bellingham's face in the build-up.

After a pitchside review by Hernandez, he ruled out the strike that would have extended Almeria's lead six minutes after Bellingham had got Madrid's goalscoring exploits underway. VAR controversy struck once again after Vinicius found the net to level proceedings with Madrid's second of the contest. Although his goal was originally ruled out after it was believed he used his arm to take the ball goalward, it was eventually decided that his shoulder was in use instead.

As such, the Almeria players and dugout alike were in disbelief that a shock win was snatched away from them, at the expense of video technology. As reported by the ever-reliable Fabrizio Romano, Melero gave his two cents on the referee's display: "I feel that we've been robbed.", while Carvajal agreed with the decisions, stating that 'VAR helps football to be more fair'.