The tide continues to turn against Jude Bellingham, but one Spanish outlet believes there is another individual to blame for his dip in form.

Bellingham was ineffectual for Real Madrid as they were battered 4-0 by bitter rivals Barcelona in the first El Clasico of the season.

Bellingham struggled to find his groove in the final thirdGetty

Robert Lewandowski scored twice in as many minutes early in the second half to put Barcelona well on their way to victory as goals to Lamine Yamal and Raphinha completed the rout.

But as good as Barcelona were, serious questions are being asked about what went wrong with Madrid’s galaxy of superstars.

It was largely a night to forget for Los Blancos as Carlo Ancelotti‘s side registered just four shots on target.

Kylian Mbappe was responsible for three of those, with Federico Valverde having another effort thwarted.

As for Bellingham, he had just one shot in the entire contest as his worrying goal drought extended into an eleventh club game across all competitions.

It is a far cry from Bellingham’s performance at this stage last season, when he scored ten goals from his first 11 LaLiga matches.

Worryingly, Bellingham failed to create a single chance against Barcelona, per Statmuse.

He also had just four touches inside the opposition box and three passes inside the final third.

Bellingham’s tally of 13 completed passes was by far his lowest of the campaign, with his second-lowest being 39 in Madrid’s 2-1 win over Celta Vigo.

Although there is a collective blame on all of Madrid’s stars for the 4-0 defeat, Bellingham’s performance is not what their fans would expect from their £88.5m man in El Clasico.

Bellingham failed to create a single chance against Barcelona

However, Marca journalist Juan Ignacio Garcia-Ochoa pointed out Bellingham is not entirely at fault for his display against Barcelona given he was played out of position as a right midfielder.

Instead, Garcia-Ochoa laid the blame at the feet of Ancelotti.

“Bellingham is a shadow of the player who burst onto the scene last season at The Bernabeu,” Garcia-Ochoa wrote.

“And the fault lies not with him, but with the way he is being managed. Every day he plays in a position that is not his and the boy, although he gives his all, does not shine.

“Playing close to the right flank, playing as a full-back for many minutes, is a joke in bad taste that Ancelotti must correct immediately.

“The fact that a player who last year scored almost 20 goals has not scored any when we are almost in November is something that deserves serious analysis.”

Ancelotti hinted before the Barcelona clash Bellingham could feature more on the right after he tried the experiment against Celta, believing the English star ‘could find more space to make runs from deep’.

“The left wing is busier this year and the right wing has been left a little more exposed,” Ancelotti said.

Ancelotti has come under fire for how he used BellinghamGetty

“We can be as effective with Bellingham and Rodrygo on the right as we are on the left.”

Unfortunately for Ancelotti, he will be without Rodrygo until after the November international window due to a hamstring injury against Borussia Dortmund.

It could mean Bellingham may have to spend more time than he’d prefer on the right flank to cover Rodrygo’s absence.

But given how ineffective the English star was against Barcelona, Ancelotti may have to find another solution to plug the hole on the right side.