It may not have been a match for the ages, the roar from the Madrid's home stadium was familiar. After a long wait, Jude Bellingham finally found himself before the south end with his arms outstretched, listening to the crowd's rendition of his anthem. Following a shoulder injury and questions about his position, he netted his opening strike of the campaign, ultimately securing a 1-0 victory for Real Madrid over a Italian opponent that put up a fight. “We had to sweat for it,” commented Thibaut Courtois.
Key Saves Secure the Victory
Courtois understood better than anyone, having to save a one-on-one from Dušan Vlahović and produce another decisive save from Khéphren Thuram in the dying moments. This result leaves Madrid on a strong tally and the opposition team below the cut. After a game with plenty of attempts but little elegance, the Juventus manager may consider a promising opening, with those saves representing a wasted moment around the 85-minute mark; the team's reality though presents concerning reading.
“An Italian team in difficulty is twice as dangerous,” Xabi Alonso had remarked in advance.
The Turin-based club, which were without a victory since September, did cause Madrid problems at the start and again near the end. Madrid commanded possession, with a significant advantage, but Juventus threatened on the counter, particularly with Pierre Kalulu running and Vlahović combining, managing a dozen attempts compared to the hosts' twenty-seven.
Promising Start for Visitors
The visitors began brightly, certainly. Within three minutes, they thought they were in front, the forward a little unlucky to be penalized for holding Éder Militão. Shortly after, Raúl Asencio had to intervene in front of him when Kalulu dashed clear on the right. Then three minutes after that, Weston McKennie's effort was deflected wide.
Next, from Federico Gatti's drive, was a more impressive stop. Fifteen minutes had passed. That said, soon the visitors' impetus had dissipated as well. Madrid took control. Largely it was rather mechanical, though, and the top chances came to the French midfielder, who is not Alonso’s striker of choice. Two were off target, a third one took a deflection; another headed opportunity was missed by the center-back.
Turkish Talent Impresses
The best moments were provided by Arda Güler. Güler, whose football was the closest there was to fluidity, was constantly in the action. His clever control and spin saw him clip to the far post for the Englishman.
There was not much sign of the French superstar early on, but when he finally emerged it was the nearest Madrid came to a goal. First his shot was stopped by Michele Di Gregorio, who would produce several stops. Then some lovely fast footwork saw him evade Andrea Cambiaso twice until he went down to the turf and laid off to his teammate to blast over.
Second-Half Drama
Militão threw himself to halt the runner at the start of the second half, and then came the regulation Courtois rescue when suddenly Vlahović was through. The “inadvertent pass” had been quite something, with the defender intercepting a pass inside his own penalty box and the sphere deflecting from the inside of his boot right through the center to past the halfway line. Racing after it, huge space appearing, Vlahović raced his marker, holding him off and advancing into the box where Courtois made the stop.
Then the usual pattern occurred, the save made good by the score that comes after it. A burst from Vinícius Júnior created it, working himself enough room amid multiple defenders to unleash a driven effort which hit the post. Positioned in that forward position was Bellingham. With the deadlock broken, Madrid ought to have sealed the game, the Frenchman denied by Di Gregorio and the Uruguayan seeing his half-volley deflected by the defender. Subsequently Di Gregorio made a brilliant double stop from Mbappé and the attacking midfielder.
It was not the only one: as the game was drawing to a close, Raúl Asencio had to make a incredible last-ditch tackle as Madrid were exposed and at the mercy of Loïs Openda unmarked in the area. Finally in the final seconds the Madrid keeper flew in to stop Thuram, his job done. For Juve, there was no route to a comeback, Bellingham’s first of the campaign the last of the encounter.
“It’s a great feeling, a long time now since I’ve found the net, a period out and dreaming of that moment, returning in the elite competition and against a major opponent. To score a winner, in our stadium, it’s incredible. I felt comfortable, excellent. To play well was crucial and to net the match-winner helps the team a lot.”
Regarding his performance, he continued: “I didn’t think last year was a failure, still fifteen strikes, fourteen setups, but I know the general feeling was that it was worse. But I was a contributor to that, how we underperformed last year, there were still positive spells but not the standard I aim to play at, not the level like the debut season. Now I’ve had my shoulder surgery, a different coach, he’s got that shape, how we want to play…. You have to learn from it.”
