It may not have been a classic encounter, the roar from the Santiago Bernabéu was unmistakable. After a long wait, Jude Bellingham finally stood before the south end with his arms outstretched, listening to the crowd's singing of his anthem. Following a shoulder injury and uncertainty about his role, he scored his opening strike of the campaign, eventually securing a 1-0 victory for Real Madrid over a Italian opponent that put up a fight. “It was a tough battle,” stated Thibaut Courtois.
Key Saves Ensure the Win
Courtois understood better than anyone, having to rescue a one-on-one from the Serbian striker and produce another decisive save from the French midfielder in the final minute. This result leaves Madrid on nine points and Igor Tudor’s team below the cut. At the end of a match with more shots than fluid football, the visiting coach may consider a decent start, with those saves representing a wasted moment around the closing stages; the team's reality though makes for concerning reading.
“An Italian team in trouble is twice as dangerous,” the Madrid coach had remarked in advance.
Juventus, who hadn’t won since last month, did cause Madrid problems at the beginning and again near the end. Madrid dominated possession, with a significant advantage, but Juventus were dangerous on the counter, especially with the French defender running and the striker linking up, managing a dozen attempts compared to the hosts' twenty-seven.
Strong Opening for Away Side
They had started well, certainly. Within three minutes, they thought they were in front, the forward a little unfortunate to be called for pulling the Brazilian defender. Three minutes later, the Madrid defender had to intervene in front of Vlahović when Kalulu broke free on the right. And three minutes after that, Weston McKennie's shot was deflected wide.
Next, from Federico Gatti's drive, was a more impressive stop. A quarter of an hour had gone. That said, quickly the Italians' momentum had dissipated too. Madrid took control. Mostly it was rather mechanical, however, and the top chances came to Aurélien Tchouaméni, who is not the coach's preferred forward. Two were headed over, a third one deflected wide; an additional chance with the head was wasted by Militão.
Turkish Talent Impresses
Most creative play came from the young Turk. Güler, whose play was the closest there was to smooth attacking, was always involved. His clever control and spin saw him clip to the back post for the Englishman.
Little was seen of the French superstar yet, but when he did appear it was the closest Madrid came to scoring. Initially his shot was denied by the Juventus keeper, who would produce eight saves. Next some lovely fast footwork saw him turn the full-back repeatedly until he tumbled to the ground and set up his teammate to blast over.
Second-Half Drama
The Brazilian threw himself to stop Kalulu at the start of the second period, and then came the customary save from the keeper when suddenly Vlahović was through. The “assist” had been quite something, with Lloyd Kelly cutting out a pass inside his own penalty box and the ball deflecting from the instep of his foot right through the middle to beyond the halfway line. Sprinting after it, huge space appearing, Vlahović raced Militão, using his strength and heading into the area where Courtois saved.
Next what tends to happen happened, the stop made good by the score that follows it. A burst from the Brazilian winger set up it, creating enough space amid multiple defenders to unleash a low, left-footed shot which hit the post. Positioned in that forward position was Bellingham. The breakthrough found, Madrid should have finished it, the Frenchman denied by the keeper and the Uruguayan seeing his volley blocked 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 stunning sliding block as Madrid were opened up and at the risk of the substitute momentarily alone in the area. Finally in the dying moments Courtois flew in to stop the midfielder, his work complete. For Juve, there was no way back, Bellingham’s first of the season the final of the match.
“I'm overjoyed, a while now since I’ve found the net, a period out and dreaming of that instant, returning in the Champions League and against a big team. To score a winner, in our stadium, it’s incredible. I felt comfortable, really good. To perform was crucial and to score the winning goal benefits the team a lot.”
Regarding his performance, he continued: “I didn’t think last year was a failure, still 15 goals, 14 assists, but I know the perception was that it was worse. But I was a contributor to that, how we didn’t play as well last year, there were nonetheless positive spells but not the standard 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 take lessons.”
