While it wasn't a match for the ages, the chanting from the Madrid's home stadium was unmistakable. After a long wait, Jude Bellingham once again stood before the south end with his arms outstretched, listening to the fans' rendition of Hey Jude. Following a lengthy layoff and uncertainty about his role, he scored his opening strike of the season, eventually delivering a narrow win for Real Madrid over a Juventus side that made them work hard. “It was a tough battle,” commented the Belgian goalkeeper.
Decisive Stops Secure the Win
Courtois understood perfectly well, having to save 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 outside the qualifying spots. At the end of a match with more shots than fluid football, the Juventus manager may consider a decent start, with those saves representing a missed chance around the closing stages; their current situation however presents concerning reading.
“An Italian team in difficulty is twice as dangerous,” Xabi Alonso had warned beforehand.
Juventus, who were without a victory since September, posed Madrid issues at the beginning and again near the conclusion. Madrid commanded the ball, 66%-34%, but Juventus were dangerous on the counter, especially with Pierre Kalulu running and the striker combining, firing off 12 shots compared to the home side's twenty-seven.
Promising Start for Visitors
The visitors began brightly, without a doubt. After just three minutes, they thought they were ahead, the forward a little unlucky to be called for pulling the Brazilian defender. Three minutes later, the Madrid defender had to intervene ahead of Vlahović when Kalulu dashed clear on the right flank. Then three minutes after that, the American midfielder's shot was pushed wide.
What followed, from Federico Gatti's powerful strike, was a even better save. A quarter of an hour had gone. That said, quickly the visitors' impetus had dissipated as well. Madrid assumed command. Largely it was all a bit functional, however, and the three best opportunities fell to Aurélien Tchouaméni, who wouldn’t be the coach's preferred forward. Two were headed over, a third one deflected wide; another headed opportunity was missed by the center-back.
Guler Shines
Most creative play came from Arda Güler. The Turk, whose football was the closest there was to fluidity, was always involved. His neat stop and turn saw him deliver to the back post for Bellingham.
Little was seen of Kylian Mbappé early on, but when he did appear it was the nearest Madrid came to scoring. Initially his attempt was stopped by the Juventus keeper, who would produce eight saves. Then some lovely fast footwork saw him evade the full-back repeatedly until he tumbled to the turf and set up Militão to fire over.
Late Tension
The Brazilian dived to halt Kalulu at the start of the second half, and then came the regulation save from the keeper when suddenly Vlahović was through. The “inadvertent pass” had been remarkable, with Lloyd Kelly cutting out a pass inside his own penalty box and the sphere deflecting from the inside of his boot directly through the middle to beyond the halfway line. Racing after it, huge space appearing, the striker raced his marker, using his strength and heading into the box where Courtois saved.
Next what tends to happen occurred, the save compensated for by the goal that comes after it. A flash from the Brazilian winger set up it, creating enough space amid four men to unleash a low, left-footed shot which hit the post. Lurking in that forward position was Bellingham. With the deadlock broken, Madrid ought to have sealed the game, the Frenchman stopped by the keeper and Fede Valverde seeing his volley blocked by the defender. Then Di Gregorio made a superb quick saves from Mbappé and the attacking midfielder.
There were more scares: as the game was slipping away, Raúl Asencio had to make a incredible last-ditch tackle as Madrid were opened up and at the mercy of Loïs Openda unmarked in the penalty box. Then in the dying moments Courtois dived to stop Thuram, his work done. For Juve, there was no way back, Bellingham’s first of the campaign the last of the encounter.
“It’s a great feeling, a while now since I’ve scored, a period out and thinking 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 was at ease, excellent. To perform was important and to net the match-winner helps the team greatly.”
Regarding his performance, he added: “I didn’t think last year was a failure, still fifteen strikes, fourteen setups, but I understand the general feeling was that it was poorer. But I was a part of 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 first year. Now I’ve had my shoulder surgery, a different coach, he’s got that shape, how we want to play…. You have to take lessons.”
