It may not have been a classic encounter, the chanting from the Santiago Bernabéu was familiar. After a long wait, Jude Bellingham once again stood before the south end with his arms outstretched, basking in the fans' rendition of Hey Jude. After a shoulder injury and uncertainty about his role, he scored his opening strike of the campaign, eventually delivering a narrow win for Real Madrid over a Juventus side that made them work hard. “We had to sweat for it,” stated Thibaut Courtois.
Key Saves Secure the Win
Courtois knew perfectly well, having to rescue a clear chance from Dušan Vlahović and make another crucial stop from the French midfielder in the dying moments. This result puts Madrid on nine points and the opposition team below the cut. At the end of a game with plenty of attempts but little elegance, the Juventus manager may reflect on a promising opening, with those saves representing a missed chance around the 85-minute mark; the team's reality though presents concerning reading.
“An Italian team in difficulty is twice as dangerous,” the Madrid coach had warned in advance.
Juventus, who were without a victory since last month, posed Madrid issues at the start and once more near the end. Madrid dominated possession, 66%-34%, but Juventus were dangerous on the break, particularly with Pierre Kalulu surging forward and the striker linking up, firing off 12 shots compared to the home side's twenty-seven.
Strong Opening for Visitors
They had started well, without a doubt. After just three minutes, they thought they were in front, the forward somewhat unlucky to be called for pulling the Brazilian defender. Shortly after, the Madrid defender had to intervene in front of him when the wing-back dashed clear on the right. Then soon after, Weston McKennie's shot was deflected wide.
Next, from Federico Gatti's powerful strike, was a even better save. Fifteen minutes had gone. That said, quickly the Italians' momentum had faded as well. Madrid assumed command. Largely it was all a bit functional, however, and the top chances came to Aurélien Tchouaméni, who is not the coach's preferred forward. A couple were off target, a third one deflected wide; an additional chance with the head was missed by the center-back.
Guler Shines
The best moments came from the young Turk. The Turk, whose play was the nearest thing there was to smooth attacking, was constantly in the action. His neat stop and turn saw him clip to the back post for the Englishman.
There was not much sign of Kylian Mbappé early on, but when he did appear it was the nearest Madrid got to a goal. Initially his attempt was denied by the Juventus keeper, who would make several stops. Next some exquisite dribbling saw him turn Andrea Cambiaso twice until he went down to the ground and set up Militão to blast over.
Late Tension
Militão threw himself to stop Kalulu at the outset of the second period, and then came the customary save from the keeper when suddenly the attacker was away. The “assist” had been quite something, with the defender cutting out a pass inside his own area and the sphere deflecting from the inside of his foot right through the middle to beyond the halfway line. Sprinting after it, huge space appearing, Vlahović outpaced Militão, holding him off and heading into the box where the keeper saved.
Then what tends to happen occurred, the stop compensated for by the score that comes after it. A burst from Vinícius Júnior created it, working himself enough room amid multiple defenders to release a driven effort which hit the upright. Lurking in that forward position was the goalscorer. The breakthrough found, Madrid should have finished it, Mbappé denied by the keeper and the Uruguayan seeing his half-volley deflected by the defender. Then Di Gregorio made a superb quick saves from the forward and the attacking midfielder.
There were more scares: as the match was slipping away, the defender had to make a stunning sliding block as Madrid were exposed and at the risk of the substitute unmarked in the penalty box. Finally in the dying moments Courtois flew in to stop Thuram, his job complete. For Juve, there was no way back, Bellingham’s first of the season the final of the encounter.
“I'm overjoyed, a long time now since I’ve scored, a lot of time out and dreaming of that moment, back in the Champions League and against a big team. To get the decisive goal, in our stadium, it’s incredible. I felt comfortable, excellent. To perform was crucial and to net the match-winner helps the team greatly.”
Regarding his performance, he continued: “I didn’t think last year was a failure, with fifteen strikes, 14 assists, but I know the perception was that it was poorer. But I was a contributor to that, how we didn’t play as well last year, there were nonetheless positive spells but not the standard I want to play at, not the level like the debut season. Now I’ve had my operation, a different coach, he’s got that system, how we intend to play…. You have to learn from it.”
