It may not have been a classic encounter, the roar from the Madrid's home stadium was familiar. After a long wait, Jude Bellingham finally stood before the south end with his arms wide open, listening to the crowd's rendition of Hey Jude. Following a lengthy layoff and questions about his role, he scored his opening strike of the campaign, eventually delivering a 1-0 victory for Real Madrid over a Italian opponent that put up a fight. “We had to sweat for it,” commented the Belgian goalkeeper.
Key Saves Ensure the Win
The shot-stopper knew better than anyone, having to save a one-on-one from the Serbian striker and produce another decisive save from Khéphren Thuram in the dying moments. The win leaves Madrid on a strong tally and Igor Tudor’s team outside the qualifying spots. After a match with more shots than fluid football, the Juventus manager may consider a promising opening, with those saves representing a wasted moment around the 85-minute mark; the team's reality however presents concerning reading.
“A side from Italy in trouble is twice as dangerous,” the Madrid coach had remarked in advance.
Juventus, which hadn’t won since last month, posed Madrid problems at the beginning and once more near the end. Madrid dominated possession, 66%-34%, but Juventus threatened on the break, particularly with the French defender surging forward and the striker linking up, managing 12 shots compared to the home side's twenty-seven.
Strong Opening for Visitors
They had started well, without a doubt. Within three minutes, they thought they were ahead, Vlahović somewhat unfortunate to be called for pulling the Brazilian defender. Shortly after, Raúl Asencio had to slide ahead of Vlahović when Kalulu dashed clear on the right flank. And soon after, Weston McKennie's shot was deflected wide.
Next, from Federico Gatti's powerful strike, was a more impressive stop. Fifteen minutes had passed. That said, quickly the Italians' momentum had dissipated as well. Madrid assumed command. Largely it was all a bit functional, however, and the three best opportunities came to Aurélien Tchouaméni, who is not Alonso’s striker of choice. Two were off target, a third deflected wide; an additional headed opportunity was missed by Militão.
Guler Shines
The best moments came from the young Turk. Güler, whose play was the nearest thing there was to smooth attacking, was constantly in the action. His neat stop and turn saw him deliver to the back post for Bellingham.
There was not much sign of Kylian Mbappé yet, but when he finally emerged it was the closest Madrid got to a goal. Initially his attempt was stopped by the Juventus keeper, who would produce several stops. Then some exquisite dribbling saw him evade the full-back repeatedly until he tumbled to the ground and set up Militão to fire over.
Second-Half Drama
The Brazilian dived to halt the runner at the start of the second half, and then came the customary save from the keeper when unexpectedly Vlahović was away. The “inadvertent pass” had been remarkable, with Lloyd Kelly intercepting a ball inside his own area and the sphere deflecting from the inside of his boot directly through the middle to past the center circle. Racing after it, huge space appearing, the striker outpaced Militão, using his strength and heading into the area where Courtois made the stop.
Then what tends to happen happened, the stop compensated for by the score that comes after it. A flash from Vinícius Júnior created it, working himself enough room amid multiple defenders to release a low, left-footed shot which hit the post. Lurking in that forward position was Bellingham. With the deadlock broken, Madrid should have finished it, the Frenchman stopped by Di Gregorio and Fede Valverde seeing his volley blocked by the defender. Then the Juventus goalkeeper made a brilliant double stop from Mbappé and Brahim Díaz.
There were more scares: as the match was drawing to a close, Raúl Asencio had to make a stunning sliding block as Madrid were exposed and at the risk of Loïs Openda momentarily alone in the penalty box. Finally in the final seconds the Madrid keeper dived to deny the midfielder, his work complete. For Juve, there was no route to a comeback, Bellingham’s first of the season the last of the encounter.
“It’s a great feeling, a long time now since I’ve scored, a period out and dreaming of that moment, back in the elite competition and against a major opponent. To score a winner, in our stadium, it’s incredible. I was at ease, excellent. To play well was crucial and to net the match-winner helps the team a lot.”
As for his performance, he added: “I didn’t think last year was a disaster, still 15 goals, fourteen setups, but I know the general feeling was that it was poorer. But I was a part of that, how we didn’t play as well last year, there were still positive spells but not the level I want 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 want to play…. You have to take lessons.”
