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 lengthy layoff and questions about his position, 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. “It was a tough battle,” commented Thibaut Courtois.
Key Saves Ensure the Win
Courtois understood better than anyone, having to rescue a one-on-one from the Serbian striker and make another decisive stop from Khéphren Thuram in the dying moments. The win puts Madrid on a strong tally and Igor Tudor’s 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 opportunities representing a wasted moment around the 85-minute mark; their current situation though makes for concerning reading.
“An Italian team in trouble is twice as dangerous,” the Madrid coach had remarked beforehand.
The Turin-based club, who were without a victory since last month, posed Madrid problems at the start and once more near the end. Madrid dominated the ball, with a significant advantage, but Juventus were dangerous on the break, particularly with Pierre Kalulu surging forward and the striker combining, managing 12 shots compared to the home side's 27.
Promising Start for Visitors
They had started well, without a doubt. After just three minutes, they thought they were in front, the forward a little unfortunate to be penalized for pulling the Brazilian defender. Shortly after, the Madrid defender had to intervene ahead of him when Kalulu dashed clear on the right. Then soon after, Weston McKennie's effort was pushed past the post.
What followed, from Federico Gatti's powerful strike, was a even better save. A quarter of an hour had passed. That said, soon the Italians' momentum had faded as well. Madrid took control. Mostly it was all a bit functional, though, and the top chances fell to the French midfielder, who is not the coach's preferred forward. Two were off target, a third one took a deflection; an additional chance with the head was missed by the center-back.
Turkish Talent Impresses
The best moments came from Arda Güler. The Turk, whose football was the closest there was to fluidity, was constantly in the action. His neat stop and turn saw him clip to the back post for the Englishman.
Little was seen of the French superstar yet, but when he finally emerged it was the nearest Madrid came to scoring. Initially his shot was stopped by the Juventus keeper, who would make eight saves. Next some exquisite dribbling saw him turn Andrea Cambiaso repeatedly until he tumbled to the turf and laid off to Militão to blast over.
Late Tension
The Brazilian dived to halt Kalulu at the start of the second period, 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 pass inside his own penalty box and the ball deflecting from the inside of his boot directly through the middle to past the center circle. Sprinting after it, huge space appearing, Vlahović outpaced his marker, using his strength and advancing into the box where Courtois saved.
Next the usual pattern happened, the stop compensated for by the score that follows it. A burst from the Brazilian winger set up it, working himself enough room amid four men to release a low, left-footed shot which struck the post. Lurking in that forward position was Bellingham. The breakthrough found, Madrid ought to have sealed the game, Mbappé denied by Di Gregorio and the Uruguayan seeing his volley blocked by Gatti. Subsequently the Juventus goalkeeper made a superb quick saves from the forward and the attacking midfielder.
It was not the only one: as the game was drawing to a close, Raúl Asencio had to make a incredible last-ditch tackle as Madrid were exposed and at the risk of Loïs Openda momentarily alone in the penalty box. Then in the final seconds Courtois dived to deny Thuram, his work 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 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, in our stadium, it’s incredible. I was at ease, excellent. To play well was important and to net the match-winner benefits the team a lot.”
As for his performance, he added: “I didn’t think last year was a disaster, with 15 goals, 14 assists, 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 level I want 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 intend to play…. You have to learn from it.”
