Bellingham key for Real Madrid as it ended its losing streak against Barcelona

MADRID (AP) — The day after the first clasico of the season saw Real Madrid celebrating the end of its losing streak against Barcelona and hailing the return to form of Jude Bellingham.

Bellingham had an assist and a goal as Madrid beat Barcelona 2-1 on Sunday to halt a four-game losing run against the Catalan rival. The England international showed all the signs he was near top form again after missing the first part of the season because of shoulder surgery.

Bellingham has scored in consecutive matches, having found the net for the first time this season last Wednesday in the 1-0 win against Juventus in the Champions League. He has showed no signs of physical ailments and has been crucial in helping the team control the pace in midfield and attack.

Bellingham underwent surgery in the summer and didn’t play his first match until September when he came off the bench in a La Liga game against Espanyol. On Sunday, he made only his eighth appearance of the season.

“I feel very good,” Bellingham said. “I’ve worked hard these past few months with the physios and in the gym. I’m very happy now because I feel great and ready for what’s to come.”

Bellingham scored the winner against Barcelona thanks to clever positioning after a cross into the area. Teammate Éder Militão got to a long cross by Vinícius Júnior and headed the ball back toward the goal, finding a wide open Bellingham behind the defenders for an easy touch into an open net.

“These are my favorite goals,” the 22-year-old Bellingham said. “A lot of people say it’s luck but for me it’s how I understand the game. When the ball goes here or there position changes everything and I’m always ready if it comes to me. Militão got his head to it and then I was there to score.”

Bellingham helped Kylian Mbappé open the scoring. After receiving a ball near the midfield line, Bellingham quickly turned around a defender and sent Mbappé a perfect through ball between a couple of Barcelona players. Mbappé entered the area and calmly found the net.

“They play very high up the pitch,” Bellingham said. “We have Mbappé and it’s easier up front. I turned and passed and then he shot and scored.”

Madrid coach Xabi Alonso praised Bellingham and said he was expected to keep improving the more he plays.

“He’s had three very good games and we knew that before the last break he needed minutes to get going and get a feel for things,” Alonso said. “He’s done better than expected after the break. He’s a player who’s very much about feeling, transmitting and connecting. He’s played some very good games.”

The victory in the clasico put Alonso's team five points ahead of Barcelona in La Liga.

Madrid's next match is at home against Valencia in the league on Saturday.

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Barcelona's Fermin Lopez, top right, goes for a header with Real Madrid's Jude Bellingham during the Spanish La Liga soccer match between Real Madrid and Barcelona, in Madrid, Sunday, Oct. 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Real Madrid's Jude Bellingham reacts after a La Liga soccer match between Real Madrid and Barcelona in Madrid, Spain, Sunday, Oct. 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)

Real Madrid's Jude Bellingham reacts after a La Liga soccer match between Real Madrid and Barcelona in Madrid, Spain, Sunday, Oct. 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)

Real Madrid's Jude Bellingham reacts after a La Liga soccer match between Real Madrid and Barcelona in Madrid, Spain, Sunday, Oct. 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)

Real Madrid's Jude Bellingham reacts after a La Liga soccer match between Real Madrid and Barcelona in Madrid, Spain, Sunday, Oct. 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)

LONDON (AP) — Britain's Conservative Party, which governed the country from 2010 until it suffered its worst-ever electoral defeat two years ago, was plunged into fresh turmoil Thursday after its leader sacked the man widely seen as her greatest rival for apparently plotting to defect from the party.

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said in a video and statement on X that she sacked the party's justice spokesperson Robert Jenrick due to “irrefutable evidence that he was plotting in secret to defect" in a way that was “designed to be as damaging as possible” to the party. Badenoch also ejected Jenrick from the party's ranks in Parliament and suspended his party membership.

“The British public are tired of political psychodrama and so am I,” she said. “They saw too much of it in the last government, they’re seeing too much of it in this government. I will not repeat those mistakes.”

Though Badenoch did not specify which party Jenrick was planning to switch to, Nigel Farage, leader of the hard-right Reform UK party, said he had “of course” had conversations with him.

In the past 12 months, the Conservatives have suffered a string of defections to Reform UK, including some former Cabinet ministers.

Farage said in a press briefing in Edinburgh, the Scottish capital, that coincided with Badenoch's statement that, “hand on heart,” he wasn't about to present Jenrick as the latest Conservative to defect to Reform, an upstart, anti-immigration party.

“I’ll give him a ring this afternoon,” he said. “I might even buy him a pint, you never know.”

The Conservatives are fighting not just the Labour government to their left, but Reform UK to the right.

Reform, which only has a handful of lawmakers in the House of Commons, is tipped to make a major breakthrough in an array of elections this May, including those to the Scottish and Welsh Parliaments, at the expense of both the Conservatives and Labour.

Jenrick, who continued to attract speculation about leadership ambitions despite being beaten in 2024, has appeared more open than Badenoch to the prospect of some sort of deal between the Conservatives and Reform to unite the right in the run-up to next general election, which has to take place by 2029.

Jenrick has yet to respond to the news of his sacking.

Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer, whose favorability ratings have fallen sharply since the general election following a series of missteps, questioned why it took Badenoch “so long” to sack Jenrick given all the speculation that he was looking to either challenge her or to defect to Reform.

Badenoch, a small-state, low-tax advocate, has shifted the Conservatives to the right, announcing policies similar to those of U.S. President Donald Trump, including a promise to deport 150,000 unauthorized immigrants a year.

Her poor poll ratings and lackluster performance in Parliament had stirred speculation that she could be ousted long before the next election.

However, she has been making a better impression in Parliament in recent weeks, particularly during her weekly questioning of Starmer, in a way that appears to have cemented her position as leader.

The party is no stranger to turmoil, having gone through six leaders in the space of 10 years, five of them serving as prime minister. Widespread anger at the way the Conservatives were governing Britain led to their defeat at the general election in July 2024, when they lost around two-thirds of their lawmakers, their worst performance since the modern party was created nearly 200 years ago.

Robert Jenrick speaking at a Reform UK press conference in Westminster, London, where it was announced the former Conservative MP has joined Reform UK, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (Jordan Pettitt/PA via AP)

Robert Jenrick with Reform UK leader Nigel Farage at a Reform UK press conference in Westminster, London, where it was announced the former Conservative MP has joined Reform UK, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (Jordan Pettitt/PA via AP)

Reform Party leader Nigel Farage addresses protesters outside the Iranian embassy, in London, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. (Yui Mok/PA via AP)

Kemi Badenoch with Robert Jenrick before being announced as the new Conservative Party leader following the vote by party members at 8 Northumberland Avenue in central London, Nov. 3, 2024. (Stefan Rousseau/PA via AP)