It may not have been a match for the ages, the chanting from the Madrid's home stadium was familiar. After a long wait, Jude Bellingham finally found himself before the south end with his arms wide open, listening to the crowd's rendition of his anthem. Following a shoulder injury and questions about his role, he netted his opening strike of the campaign, ultimately delivering a narrow win for Real Madrid over a Italian opponent that made them work hard. “We had to sweat for it,” commented the Belgian goalkeeper.
Key Saves Secure the Victory
Courtois understood better than anyone, having to rescue a one-on-one from the Serbian striker and produce another crucial save from Khéphren Thuram in the final minute. This result leaves Madrid on nine points and Igor Tudor’s team below the cut. After a game with more shots than fluid football, the visiting coach may consider a promising opening, with those saves representing a missed chance around the closing stages; the team's reality though makes for worrying statistics.
“An Italian team in difficulty is twice as dangerous,” the Madrid coach had warned in advance.
Juventus, who were without a victory since September, did cause Madrid problems at the start and once more near the conclusion. Madrid dominated possession, with a significant advantage, but Juventus threatened on the counter, especially with Pierre Kalulu running and the striker combining, firing off 12 shots compared to the hosts' twenty-seven.
Strong Opening for Visitors
The visitors began brightly, certainly. Within three minutes, they thought they were in front, the forward somewhat unfortunate to be called for holding Éder Militão. Shortly after, the Madrid defender had to intervene in front of Vlahović when Kalulu dashed clear on the right flank. Then soon after, Weston McKennie's shot was deflected past the post.
Next, from Federico Gatti's drive, was a more impressive save. Fifteen minutes had gone. That said, quickly the Italians' momentum had faded as well. Madrid took control. Mostly it was all a bit functional, however, and the top chances fell to the French midfielder, who is not Alonso’s striker of choice. A couple were headed over, a third deflected wide; an additional headed opportunity was wasted by the center-back.
Turkish Talent Impresses
Most creative play were provided by the young Turk. Güler, whose football was the closest there was to fluidity, was always involved. His clever control and spin saw him clip to the far post for the Englishman.
Little was seen of Kylian Mbappé yet, but when he finally emerged it was the closest Madrid came to scoring. First his shot was denied by the Juventus keeper, who would produce several stops. Next some lovely fast footwork saw him evade the full-back repeatedly until he went down to the turf and laid off to Militão to blast over.
Second-Half Drama
The Brazilian dived to halt the runner at the outset of the second half, and then came the customary save from the keeper when suddenly the attacker was away. The “inadvertent pass” 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 boot directly through the middle to beyond the center circle. Racing after it, huge space opening, the striker raced his marker, holding him off and heading into the area where the keeper saved.
Next what tends to happen occurred, the save made good by the score that comes after it. A burst from Vinícius Júnior set up it, creating enough room amid multiple defenders to release a driven effort which struck the post. Positioned in that forward position was the goalscorer. The breakthrough found, Madrid should have finished it, the Frenchman stopped by the keeper and Fede Valverde seeing his half-volley blocked by the defender. Subsequently the Juventus goalkeeper made a brilliant double stop from Mbappé and Brahim Díaz.
It was not the only one: as the match was slipping away, Raúl Asencio had to make a incredible last-ditch tackle as Madrid were opened up and at the risk of the substitute momentarily alone in the penalty box. Then in the final seconds the Madrid keeper dived to stop the midfielder, his job complete. For the visitors, there was no way back, Bellingham’s first of the campaign the final of the match.
“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 score the winning goal benefits the team greatly.”
Regarding his form, he continued: “I didn’t think last year was a disaster, with fifteen strikes, fourteen setups, but I know the general feeling was that it was worse. But I was a contributor to that, how we didn’t play as well last year, there were still good moments but not the standard I want to play at, not the level like the debut season. Now I’ve had my shoulder surgery, a new manager, he’s got that system, how we intend to play…. You have to learn from it.”
