It may not have been a classic encounter, the chanting from the Santiago Bernabéu was familiar. Having been absent for some time, Jude Bellingham once again found himself before the home supporters with his arms outstretched, basking in the fans' rendition of Hey Jude. Following a shoulder injury and uncertainty about his role, he netted his opening strike of the campaign, eventually delivering a 1-0 victory for Real Madrid over a Italian opponent that made them work hard. “It was a tough battle,” commented Thibaut Courtois.
Decisive Stops Ensure the Win
Courtois understood perfectly well, having to rescue a clear chance from the Serbian striker and make another decisive save from the French midfielder in the dying moments. This result puts Madrid on nine points and Igor Tudor’s team outside the qualifying spots. At the end of 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; their current situation though makes for concerning reading.
“A side from Italy in trouble is doubly threatening,” the Madrid coach had warned beforehand.
The Turin-based club, which hadn’t won since last month, posed Madrid problems at the start and once more near the end. Madrid dominated the ball, 66%-34%, but Juventus were dangerous on the counter, especially with the French defender running and Vlahović combining, firing off a dozen attempts compared to the home side's twenty-seven.
Strong Opening for Visitors
They had started well, certainly. Within three minutes, they believed they were in front, Vlahović somewhat unlucky to be penalized for pulling the Brazilian defender. Three minutes later, the Madrid defender had to intervene ahead of him when Kalulu dashed clear on the right flank. And soon after, Weston McKennie's shot was pushed past the post.
Next, from Federico Gatti's drive, was a more impressive stop. A quarter of an hour had passed. That said, soon the visitors' impetus had dissipated too. Madrid took control. Largely it was rather mechanical, however, and the three best opportunities came to Aurélien Tchouaméni, who is not the coach's preferred forward. Two were headed over, a third deflected wide; another chance with the head was missed by the center-back.
Turkish Talent Impresses
The best moments came from Arda Güler. Güler, whose play was the nearest thing there was to smooth attacking, was constantly in the action. His clever control and spin saw him clip to the back post for Bellingham.
Little was seen of the French superstar early on, but when he did appear it was the nearest Madrid got to a goal. Initially his attempt was stopped by the Juventus keeper, who would produce several stops. Then some lovely fast footwork saw him evade Andrea Cambiaso twice until he tumbled to the turf and laid off to his teammate to blast over.
Second-Half Drama
The Brazilian threw himself to stop the runner at the outset of the second half, and then came the customary Courtois rescue when suddenly the attacker was away. The “inadvertent pass” had been quite something, with Lloyd Kelly cutting out a ball inside his own penalty box and the ball deflecting from the instep of his foot right through the middle to past the halfway line. Racing after it, ample room appearing, Vlahović raced Militão, using his strength and heading into the box where the keeper made the stop.
Next what tends to happen occurred, the stop made good by the goal that follows it. A burst 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 the goalscorer. With the deadlock broken, Madrid should have finished it, Mbappé stopped by the keeper and Fede Valverde seeing his volley deflected by the defender. Subsequently the Juventus goalkeeper made a brilliant double stop from the forward and the attacking midfielder.
It was not the only one: as the match was drawing to a close, Raúl Asencio had to make a stunning sliding block as Madrid were exposed and at the mercy of Loïs Openda momentarily alone in the penalty box. Then in the final seconds Courtois dived to stop the midfielder, his job done. For Juve, there was no way back, the opening goal of the season the last of the match.
“I'm overjoyed, a long time now since I’ve found the net, a period out and thinking of that moment, returning in the Champions League and against a big team. To score a winner, in our stadium, it’s unbelievable. I was at ease, really good. To perform was important and to net the match-winner benefits the team a lot.”
Regarding his performance, he added: “I didn’t think last year was a failure, still 15 goals, 14 assists, but I know the general feeling 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 level I aim to play at, not the level like the debut season. Now I’ve had my operation, a new manager, he’s got that shape, how we want to play…. You have to learn from it.”
