Jude Bellingham appeared to launch a verbal tirade at the referee during Real Madrid’s 4-1 win over Espanyol on Saturday.

The 21-year-old was shown a yellow card moments before he was substituted in the 83rd minute.

Bellingham was fuming with the referee during Real Madrid’s win

The England midfielder was frustrated when the referee stopped a Real Madrid counter-attack.

Video footage that has surfaced on social media appeared to show him launching an X-rated attack on the referee.

He could be seen calling the referee a ‘piece of s***’

Madrid had to come from behind to beat Espanyol, but in the end were dominant 4-1 winners at the Bernabeu.

Thibault Courtois’ second-half own goal gave Espanyol a shock lead against the run of play, but Real responded through Dani Carvajal, Rodrygo, Vinicius Junior and Kylian Mbappe’s late penalty.

Real Madrid climbed to within a point of LaLiga leaders Barcelona, who play at Villarreal on Sunday.

There was a slight concern for Bellingham, however, as he appeared to re-injure his shoulder.

Speaking to the media, manager Carlo Ancelotti said: “Bellingham has always played with a shoulder protector. He took it off a month ago because he was fine, but today he has had the problem again.

“Tonight he has resolved it very well; we will see how he feels tomorrow. I think it won’t be a problem, although he has to take care of himself, obviously.”

Real Madrid are back in LaLiga action on Tuesday, against Alvaves, but Bellingham may well be rested for that.

Bellingham continued his protestations after the final whistleGetty

Ancelotti was overall happy with his team’s performance against Espanyol.

He added: “We played faster up front, playing faster and making some better moves. We covered the area well. We didn’t have a striker who could set up the position, but we did get in fantastically from the back.

“Mobility, as always, is an important weapon. The third goal was spectacular, on a fantastic counterattack. We had many shots on goal and we should be satisfied.

“At the back, the recovery was good, as was the pressure after losing the ball. We came out with a good dynamic, little by little we are returning to our best version.”