While it wasn't a classic encounter, the roar from the Santiago Bernabéu was familiar. After a long wait, Jude Bellingham once again found himself before the south end with his arms wide open, basking in the fans' singing of his anthem. Following a lengthy layoff and uncertainty about his role, he netted his opening strike of the season, ultimately delivering a 1-0 victory for Real Madrid over a Italian opponent that made them work hard. “It was a tough battle,” commented the Belgian goalkeeper.
Decisive Stops Ensure the Victory
Courtois understood perfectly well, having to rescue a clear chance from the Serbian striker and make another crucial stop from the French midfielder in the dying moments. This result puts Madrid on a strong tally and Igor Tudor’s team below the cut. At the end of a game with plenty of attempts but little elegance, the visiting coach may reflect on a decent start, with those saves representing a wasted moment around the 85-minute mark; the team's reality however presents concerning reading.
“An Italian team in difficulty is twice as dangerous,” the Madrid coach had warned in advance.
Juventus, which hadn’t won since last month, did cause Madrid issues at the beginning and again near the conclusion. Madrid dominated possession, 66%-34%, but Juventus threatened on the counter, especially with Pierre Kalulu surging forward and Vlahović combining, firing off a dozen attempts compared to the hosts' twenty-seven.
Promising Start for Visitors
The visitors began brightly, without a doubt. Within three minutes, they thought they were ahead, the forward a little unfortunate to be penalized for pulling the Brazilian defender. Shortly after, Raúl Asencio had to slide ahead of him when Kalulu dashed clear on the right. Then soon after, Weston McKennie's shot was pushed past the post.
Next, from the defender's powerful strike, was a even better save. Fifteen minutes had gone. That said, soon the visitors' impetus had dissipated too. Madrid took control. Largely it was rather mechanical, however, and the three best opportunities came to the French midfielder, who is not the coach's preferred forward. A couple were headed over, a third took a deflection; another chance with the head was missed by the center-back.
Turkish Talent Impresses
The best moments were provided by the young Turk. Güler, whose football was the nearest thing there was to smooth attacking, was always involved. His neat stop and turn saw him clip to the back post for the Englishman.
Little was seen of the French superstar yet, but when he did appear it was the closest Madrid came to a goal. Initially his shot was stopped by the Juventus keeper, who would produce eight saves. Then some exquisite dribbling saw him evade the full-back repeatedly until he went down to the ground and set up his teammate to fire over.
Second-Half Drama
Militão threw himself to stop Kalulu at the start of the second half, and then came the regulation Courtois rescue when unexpectedly Vlahović was through. The “assist” had been remarkable, with the defender cutting out a ball inside his own penalty box and the ball deflecting from the inside of his boot right through the middle to beyond the halfway line. Sprinting after it, huge space opening, the striker raced Militão, holding him off and advancing into the area where the keeper saved.
Then what tends to happen occurred, the stop made good by the score that follows it. A burst from Vinícius Júnior set up it, creating enough space amid four men to unleash a driven effort which hit the upright. Lurking in that striker’s role was the goalscorer. With the deadlock broken, Madrid should have finished it, Mbappé denied by Di Gregorio and the Uruguayan seeing his half-volley blocked by Gatti. Subsequently the Juventus goalkeeper made a superb quick saves from the forward and the attacking midfielder.
There were more scares: as the game was drawing to a close, Raúl Asencio had to make a incredible last-ditch tackle as Madrid were opened up and at the risk of Loïs Openda unmarked in the area. Finally in the final seconds Courtois dived to stop Thuram, his work complete. For the visitors, there was no route to a comeback, Bellingham’s first of the campaign the last of the encounter.
“I'm overjoyed, a long time now since I’ve found the net, a period out and thinking of that instant, back in the Champions League and against a major opponent. To score a winner, in our stadium, it’s incredible. I felt comfortable, really good. To play well was crucial and to net the match-winner benefits the team a lot.”
Regarding his form, he continued: “It wasn't that last year was a failure, still 15 goals, fourteen setups, but I understand the general feeling was that it was worse. But I was a contributor to that, how we didn’t play as well last year, there were still positive spells but not the level I aim to play at, not the level like the first year. Now I’ve had my shoulder surgery, a different coach, he’s got that system, how we want to play…. You have to learn from it.”
