It may not have been a match for the ages, the roar from the Santiago Bernabéu was unmistakable. After a long wait, Jude Bellingham finally found himself before the home supporters with his arms wide open, basking in the crowd's singing of his anthem. After a shoulder injury and uncertainty about his role, he scored his opening strike of the campaign, ultimately securing a narrow win for Real Madrid over a Italian opponent that made them work hard. “It was a tough battle,” stated the Belgian goalkeeper.
Decisive Stops Ensure the Win
Courtois understood better than anyone, having to save a one-on-one from Dušan Vlahović and make another crucial stop from Khéphren Thuram in the dying moments. The win leaves Madrid on a strong tally and Igor Tudor’s team below the cut. After a game with more shots than fluid football, the visiting coach may consider a decent start, with those saves representing a missed chance around the 85-minute mark; the team's reality however presents worrying statistics.
“A side from Italy in difficulty is doubly threatening,” Xabi Alonso had warned beforehand.
Juventus, which were without a victory since last month, did cause Madrid issues at the beginning and again near the end. Madrid dominated possession, 66%-34%, but Juventus were dangerous on the counter, particularly with the French defender surging forward and Vlahović combining, managing a dozen attempts compared to the home side's twenty-seven.
Promising Start for Visitors
The visitors began brightly, certainly. Within three minutes, they thought they were in front, Vlahović a little unlucky to be penalized for pulling the Brazilian defender. Shortly after, the Madrid defender had to slide in front of him when the wing-back dashed clear on the right. Then soon after, Weston McKennie's effort was pushed past the post.
Next, from Federico Gatti's powerful strike, was a more impressive save. Fifteen minutes had gone. However, soon the visitors' impetus had faded too. Madrid took control. Largely it was all a bit functional, however, and the three best opportunities came to the French midfielder, who wouldn’t be the coach's preferred forward. Two were off target, a third took a deflection; another chance with the head was wasted by Militão.
Guler Shines
Most creative play were provided by the young Turk. The Turk, whose play was the nearest thing there was to smooth attacking, was always involved. His clever control and spin saw him deliver to the back post for the Englishman.
Little was seen of Kylian Mbappé early on, but when he did appear it was the nearest Madrid came to scoring. Initially his shot was stopped by the Juventus keeper, who would make several stops. Next some exquisite dribbling saw him evade Andrea Cambiaso twice until he tumbled to the turf and laid off to his teammate to blast over.
Second-Half Drama
Militão dived to stop the runner at the start of the second period, and then came the regulation save from the keeper 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 bouncing from the inside of his boot directly through the middle to past the center circle. Sprinting after it, huge space appearing, Vlahović raced Militão, holding him off and heading into the area where the keeper made the stop.
Then the usual pattern occurred, the stop compensated for by the goal that comes after it. A burst from Vinícius Júnior created it, working himself enough room amid multiple defenders to unleash a low, left-footed shot which struck the post. Positioned in that forward position was Bellingham. The breakthrough found, Madrid should have finished it, the Frenchman denied by Di Gregorio and Fede Valverde seeing his volley deflected by the defender. Subsequently Di Gregorio made a brilliant double stop from the forward and the attacking midfielder.
There were more scares: as the game was drawing to a close, the defender had to make a incredible last-ditch tackle as Madrid were exposed and at the risk of Loïs Openda unmarked in the penalty box. Then in the dying moments the Madrid keeper dived to deny the midfielder, his work complete. For the visitors, there was no way back, Bellingham’s first of the campaign the last of the match.
“I'm overjoyed, a while now since I’ve found the net, a lot of time out and dreaming of that moment, returning in the elite competition and against a major opponent. To get the decisive goal, here at home, it’s unbelievable. I felt comfortable, really good. To perform was important and to score the winning goal helps the team a lot.”
As for his form, he continued: “I didn’t think last year was a disaster, with 15 goals, fourteen setups, but I know the general feeling was that it was poorer. But I was a contributor to that, how we underperformed last year, there were nonetheless positive spells but not the standard I aim to play at, not the level like the first year. Now I’ve had my operation, a different coach, he’s got that system, how we intend to play…. You have to take lessons.”
