As Rangers fans celebrate a famous victory against German giants Borussia Dortmund, the club’s supporters have also been recognising the impression left by teenage midfielder Jude Bellingham.
Heading into the return and eventual 2-2 draw at Ibrox, much had been made about the classiness of Borussia Dortmund as a club and as a fanbase.
But whilst the side is strewn with established German internationals such as Marco Reus and Mats Hummels, it was the young Englishman who most embodied the spirit of Signal Iduna Park.
Signed in a £25m deal from Birmingham City as a 17-year-old [Sky Sports], Bellingham is still only 18 but you’d never know it given his composure on the pitch and off it.
Jude Bellingham impresse on Rangers visit
A superb ambassador for Borussia Dortmund as a player and as a speaker, Jude Bellingham was remarkably impressive throughout and showed his footballing quality and his personable class.
A fierce competitor who scored a wonderful goal in the first leg – a rampant 4-2 Rangers win and one of the club’s best ever European away days – ahead of the return to Glasgow, Jude Bellingham had talked up his commitment to reversing the scoreline but also his excitement to visit Ibrox.
In the pre-match, the midfielder grabbed headlines after Dortmund’s social media team uploaded a video of him proclaiming “what a gaff” when first stepping out on the pitch at Ibrox.
As the game kicked off, the 6ft1 midfielder was an all-action presence for Dortmund and that complete, archetypal England central midfielder with shades of ex-Gers boss Steven Gerrard.
For everyone watching, Jude Bellingham was clearly a player of immense quality already and things are only going to get better for the England star whether at Dortmund long-term or elsewhere.
Scoring again at Ibrox, a moment of frustration aimed at underperforming teammate Nico Schulz also summed up his commitment to winning the match for his side.
It wasn’t to be for Bellingham and in the post-match, yet again, the midfielder displayed all the class and humility that we saw on the pitch but caught the eye of Rangers fans off it too.
A credit to Borussia Dortmund and to English football too, there’s a lot to like about Jude Bellingham and he’s certainly left an impression on Rangers fans on the visit to Glasgow.
Meanwhile, one Premier League boss has been making a startling Rangers admission after the Europa League draw for the next round was made.
