Real Madrid's return to the Santiago Bernabeu after almost a month away was not the homecoming fans expected.
The visit of Rayo Vallecano was supposed to be a chance for Carlo Ancelotti's side to consolidate their recent good form, a run of results that included a Clasico victory over Barcelona. Instead, supporters suffered as they were held to a 0-0 draw despite managing 22 shots and Rayo not once testing Kepa Arrizabalaga.
Jude Bellingham, who before kick-off received his latest player of the month award as fans sang his name, was visibly frustrated by the end. After the final whistle, he lingered on the pitch, as he usually does, to wave to the crowd — but on this occasion, his route was disrupted by several arguments with Rayo players, who were revelling in the hard-earned draw.
That image reflected Madrid's disappointment as a whole, epitomised by the player who has saved the team so many times already this season. Bellingham's impact in this debut campaign, contributing 13 goals and three assists, has surprised everyone — as Ancelotti has repeatedly acknowledged. But it has also left a doubt over what happens when he does not get things right.
This has not been a question posed too loudly during the team's recent good results in La Liga and the Champions League, but Ancelotti did try to offer an answer in his pre-match press conference on Saturday, when he was asked why Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo had been struggling to score.
“They are going to score more than Bellingham and Joselu,” he replied with great confidence. “This is obvious, we have no doubt. The important thing is that when they are not there, there is Bellingham and Joselu, who are doing great.”
On Sunday, however, those words found no backing in reality, as his team did not score for the first time this season.
Obviously frustrated by the result, Vinicius Jr was the first Madrid player to leave the pitch at full time. On several occasions during the match he had tried to encourage the crowd, asking them to add volume, as if he could not take on the game alone. He had a goal disallowed for offside.
Rodrygo, meanwhile, came on in the 70th minute and failed to take advantage of two good chances. The Brazilian pair have five goals in all competitions between them in a combined 26 appearances. Vinicius Jr, who was out injured for a month, has scored three and Rodrygo two.
Joselu has contributed five goals, but he has been facing some criticism because he has needed several attempts to score — the 33-year-old averages a goal every seven shots. Against Rayo, he had six shots but failed to find the net.
In total, Joselu, Vinicius Jr and Rodrygo have 10 goals between them — three fewer than Bellingham. And for that they have taken 79 shots, 37 of them (46.8 per cent) on target. In other words, the trio, on average, needs 7.9 shots to score a goal.
Bellingham, meanwhile, has taken 27 shots, 21 of them (77.7 per cent) on target. The Englishman scores on average every 2.1 shots. The difference is stark. But at the moment, Madrid don't seem to have another answer.
“We lacked goals and a bit of accuracy at the end, but it was a good game,” Ancelotti said on Sunday night. “We are hurt, but it was a good game. Do we depend too much on Bellingham's goals? No, we have other resources. I'm not worried about not scoring.”
Perhaps those resources will be especially needed in Wednesday's Champions League home game against Braga because Bellingham may not be available.
When the 20-year-old suffered a shoulder problem after a challenge in the 10th minute, the atmosphere around the ground summed up his importance to this Madrid side. With the Englishman on the turf in clear pain, the Santiago Bernabeu froze, mirroring the perfect silence it observed before kick off in memory of the late Fernando Fernandez-Tapias, the club's first vice-president, who passed away on October 25.
Not many even noticed that Rodrygo had started to warm up as a potential replacement. All eyes were on Bellingham. The stretcher appeared with medical staff to carry him off, but he eventually managed to leave on his own.
Bellingham completed the match. He did so with a bandage that had to be adjusted twice in the second half. “He was a little bit affected,” Ancelotti said. “He's going to be assessed tomorrow. I don't think it's serious, hopefully he'll be ready.”
The Italian coach was the only Real Madrid member to offer his explanations after the game, because the draw meant that none of his players attended to the media in the mixed zone. In the Champions League, with or without Bellingham, they will have to speak on the pitch to silence the off-field debates once again.