England midfielder Jude Bellingham is one of four Real Madrid first-teamers at risk of missing the second leg of their Champions League clash with Manchester City if they pick up a yellow card at the Bernabeu on Tuesday.
Yellow card totals are reset after the quarter-finals, a rule introduced a decade ago to prevent players missing the final of the competition through an accumulation of bookings over earlier rounds. The previous system saw Chelsea go into the 2012 final without Branislav Ivanovic, Ramires and Raul Meireles, while Real Madrid themselves were without Xabi Alonso for the 2014 final after he was booked in the second leg of their semi-final victory over Bayern Munich.
Bellingham was booked twice in the group stages, during a victory away to Napoli and another 3-2 win against Union Berlin. A third booking would see him miss the second leg, but if the 20-year-old can remain on his best behaviour home and away against City then he'd no longer be in danger of a yellow card ban.
The former Borussia Dortmund star isn't the only one walking a tightrope. His Real Madrid team-mates Vinicius Junior, Eduardo Camavinga and Aurelien Tchouameni are also one booking from a ban, as is Manchester City defender Ruben Dias.
If Carlo Ancelotti's side lose Bellingham for any amount of time, it could be very damaging. The England star has four goals and four assists in this season's Champions League, helping Los Blancos top their group with a 100 percent record before overcoming RB Leipzig in the round of 16.
“At the beginning I was a bit surprised. I didn’t know much about him, to be honest," team-mate Antonio Rudiger said of the midfielder. “But – wow! - he’s a big personality in our locker room and that's massive. The way he handles himself is very good.
“He’s only 20, but if you talk to him you feel like this guy has already seen everything in life. He’s very mature, so I’m not surprised anymore. I’m sure he’ll be a leader for you guys [England]. For his age he’s very mature. He’s just professional in everything he does. He’s a good lad."
Manchester City are well aware of the danger posed by Bellingham as well. Manager Pep Guardiola praised the youngster for his "brilliant season", while Rodri has also been impressed.
“We know Jude because we have faced Dortmund - he is so powerful and strong, has the ability to arrive at the second line and control the game," the Spanish star said. "But I don’t like focusing on one player - they have enormous potential in all the lines, and we have to adapt to that.”
City knocked Real Madrid out of the Champions League last season with a 5-1 aggregate victory, but face a much-changed opponent this term. Atletico Madrid are the only opponent to beat Ancelotti's team in any competition this season, beating their neighbours in the league in September and the Copa del Rey in January.