It may not have been a classic encounter, the chanting from the Madrid's home stadium was unmistakable. Having been absent for some time, Jude Bellingham finally found himself before the home supporters with his arms outstretched, basking in the crowd's rendition of his anthem. Following a lengthy layoff and questions about his role, he scored his first goal of the campaign, ultimately securing a 1-0 victory for Real Madrid over a Juventus side that made them work hard. “We had to sweat for it,” stated the Belgian goalkeeper.
Key Saves Secure the Win
Courtois knew perfectly well, having to save a one-on-one from the Serbian striker and make another crucial stop from the French midfielder 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 visiting coach may consider a decent start, with those opportunities representing a missed chance around the closing stages; the team's reality however presents worrying statistics.
“An Italian team in difficulty is doubly threatening,” the Madrid coach had remarked beforehand.
Juventus, who hadn’t won since last month, did cause Madrid problems at the start and once more near the conclusion. Madrid commanded possession, 66%-34%, but Juventus threatened on the break, especially with the French defender running and the striker combining, firing off 12 shots compared to the hosts' 27.
Strong Opening for Away Side
They had started well, without a doubt. After just three minutes, they believed they were in front, the forward somewhat unlucky to be penalized for holding the Brazilian defender. Three minutes later, the Madrid defender had to slide in front of him when Kalulu broke free on the right. And soon after, Weston McKennie's effort was pushed past the post.
What followed, from Federico Gatti's powerful strike, was a even better save. Fifteen minutes had passed. That said, quickly the visitors' impetus had faded too. Madrid assumed command. Largely it was rather mechanical, though, and the three best opportunities fell to the French midfielder, who is not Alonso’s striker of choice. A couple were off target, a third one took a deflection; an additional chance with the head was wasted by Militão.
Turkish Talent Impresses
Most creative play came from the young Turk. The Turk, whose football was the nearest thing there was to smooth attacking, was constantly in the action. His neat stop and turn saw him clip to the far post for the Englishman.
Little was seen of Kylian Mbappé yet, but when he finally emerged it was the closest Madrid came to scoring. Initially his attempt was denied by Michele Di Gregorio, 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 blast over.
Late Tension
Militão dived to halt the runner at the start of the second half, and then came the customary save from the keeper when unexpectedly the attacker was through. The “assist” had been quite something, with the defender intercepting a ball inside his own penalty box and the sphere deflecting from the instep of his foot directly through the middle to beyond the halfway line. Sprinting after it, huge space appearing, Vlahović outpaced Militão, using his strength and heading into the box where the keeper saved.
Next what tends to happen occurred, the save compensated for by the goal that comes after it. A flash from Vinícius Júnior set up it, working himself enough room amid multiple defenders to release a driven effort which struck the post. Lurking in that forward position was Bellingham. With the deadlock broken, Madrid should have finished it, Mbappé stopped by Di Gregorio and the Uruguayan seeing his volley deflected by the defender. Subsequently Di Gregorio made a brilliant double stop from the forward and Brahim Díaz.
It was not the only one: as the match was drawing to a close, the defender had to make a stunning sliding block as Madrid were opened up and at the mercy of the substitute momentarily alone in the area. Then in the dying moments Courtois dived to deny Thuram, his work complete. For Juve, there was no way back, Bellingham’s first of the campaign the final of the match.
“I'm overjoyed, a long time now since I’ve scored, a lot of time out and dreaming of that instant, back in the Champions League and against a major opponent. To get the decisive goal, in our stadium, it’s unbelievable. I felt comfortable, really good. To play well was important and to score the winning goal helps the team a lot.”
Regarding his performance, he continued: “It wasn't that last year was a disaster, with fifteen strikes, fourteen setups, but I know the perception was that it was worse. But I was a part of that, how we didn’t play as well last year, there were still good moments but not the level I aim to play at, not the caliber like the first year. Now I’ve had my operation, a different coach, he’s got that system, how we want to play…. You have to learn from it.”
