It may not have been a match for the ages, the roar from the Madrid's home stadium was unmistakable. Having been absent for some time, Jude Bellingham finally found himself before the south end with his arms outstretched, listening to the fans' singing of his anthem. Following a lengthy layoff and questions about his role, he netted his first goal of the campaign, ultimately securing a 1-0 victory for Real Madrid over a Italian opponent that made them work hard. “It was a tough battle,” commented Thibaut Courtois.
Key Saves Ensure the Win
The shot-stopper knew better than anyone, having to rescue a clear chance from Dušan Vlahović and make another decisive save from Khéphren Thuram in the dying moments. The win leaves Madrid on a strong tally and the opposition team outside the qualifying spots. After a game with more shots than fluid football, the Juventus manager may consider a decent start, with those opportunities representing a missed chance around the 85-minute mark; the team's reality though makes for concerning reading.
“A side from Italy in trouble is doubly threatening,” Xabi Alonso had remarked in advance.
Juventus, which hadn’t won since September, did cause Madrid problems at the beginning and again near the end. Madrid commanded the ball, with a significant advantage, but Juventus threatened on the counter, particularly with the French defender surging forward and Vlahović linking up, firing off a dozen attempts compared to the home side's twenty-seven.
Promising Start for Visitors
The visitors began brightly, without a doubt. Within three minutes, they thought they were ahead, the forward a little unlucky to be called for holding the Brazilian defender. Shortly after, the Madrid defender had to slide ahead of Vlahović when the wing-back dashed clear on the right. And soon after, the American midfielder's effort was deflected wide.
What followed, from the defender's drive, was a even better save. A quarter of an hour had gone. That said, quickly the Italians' momentum had faded too. Madrid took control. Mostly it was rather mechanical, though, and the top chances fell to the French midfielder, who is not the coach's preferred forward. Two were headed over, a third took a deflection; another chance with the head was wasted by Militão.
Guler Shines
The best moments were provided by Arda Güler. Güler, whose football was the nearest thing there was to smooth attacking, was always involved. His neat stop and turn saw him clip to the back post for Bellingham.
There was not much sign of Kylian Mbappé yet, but when he finally emerged it was the nearest Madrid came to scoring. Initially his attempt was denied by Michele Di Gregorio, who would make eight saves. Then some lovely fast footwork saw him turn the full-back repeatedly until he went down to the turf and set up his teammate to fire over.
Second-Half Drama
Militão threw himself to halt Kalulu at the start of the second half, and then came the customary save from the keeper when unexpectedly the attacker was away. The “inadvertent pass” had been remarkable, with the defender cutting out a ball inside his own penalty box and the sphere deflecting from the inside of his boot directly through the center to beyond the halfway line. Racing after it, huge space opening, the striker raced his marker, holding him off and heading into the box where Courtois saved.
Next what tends to happen occurred, the stop made good by the score that follows it. A burst from Vinícius Júnior created it, working himself enough space amid four men to unleash a low, left-footed shot which struck the post. Lurking in that striker’s role was Bellingham. With the deadlock broken, Madrid should have finished it, Mbappé denied by the keeper and the Uruguayan seeing his volley deflected by Gatti. Subsequently the Juventus goalkeeper made a superb quick saves from the forward 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 mercy of the substitute unmarked in the area. Then in the dying moments Courtois dived to deny Thuram, his work done. For the visitors, there was no route to a comeback, Bellingham’s first of the campaign the last of the encounter.
“It’s a great feeling, a while now since I’ve scored, a lot of time out and thinking of that moment, returning in the elite competition and against a big team. To score a winner, here at home, it’s unbelievable. I felt comfortable, excellent. To perform was important and to net the match-winner benefits the team greatly.”
Regarding his performance, he continued: “It wasn't that last year was a failure, 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 standard I aim to play at, not the caliber like the debut season. Now I’ve had my operation, a new manager, he’s got that shape, how we intend to play…. You have to learn from it.”
