Jude Bellingham reached a major personal milestone as Real Madrid continued their impressive winning run with a commanding 3-0 victory over Racing Santander on Sunday.

The England international scored his 50th goal for the Spanish giants, helping Jose Mourinho’s side secure their fifth consecutive victory in all competitions and maintain pressure on La Liga leaders Barcelona.

Real Madrid entered the contest full of confidence following their 2-1 El Clasico victory over Barcelona last week and wasted little time establishing control.

Kylian Mbappe opened the scoring from the penalty spot in the 11th minute after Matteo Prati brought down the French striker inside the area.

Bellingham then produced the standout moment of the match in the 21st minute. The midfielder collected possession near the halfway line, surged forward and cleverly lifted the ball over the advancing goalkeeper before finishing into an empty net.

Record signing Yan Diomande extended Madrid’s advantage before half-time, firing home a volley after Santander failed to properly clear a corner.

Madrid continued to create opportunities after the break, with Mbappe coming close to adding another goal in the 59th minute. However, his curling effort from outside the penalty area struck the post.

Santander briefly thought they had an opportunity to reduce the deficit late in the match when a penalty was awarded for a suspected handball by Aurelien Tchouameni.

However, VAR overturned the decision after replays showed the ball had deflected off the midfielder’s boot before accidentally striking his hand.

Bellingham also thought he had scored his second goal of the evening, but his composed finish into the bottom corner was disallowed for offside.

The midfielder’s landmark strike underlined his remarkable contribution since joining Real Madrid from Borussia Dortmund for £88.5 million in 2023.

Now 23, the former Birmingham City youngster has registered 50 goals and 37 assists in 154 appearances for the Spanish club.

Meanwhile, Mourinho handed Trent Alexander-Arnold a rare starting opportunity. The former Liverpool defender nearly provided an early assist, but Arda Guler sent his curling effort narrowly wide after receiving a cut-back.

Alexander-Arnold has started only five of Madrid’s 14 matches this season, with Denzel Dumfries and Federico Valverde frequently preferred at right-back.

The victory leaves Real Madrid just three points behind Barcelona in the league standings.

With only two defeats this season and their last loss coming against Atletico Madrid on September 20, Mourinho’s team appear to be gathering momentum in the title race.