It may not have been a classic encounter, the roar from the Madrid's home stadium was unmistakable. Having been absent for some time, Jude Bellingham once again stood before the home supporters with his arms outstretched, basking in the fans' singing of Hey Jude. After a lengthy layoff and uncertainty about his position, he scored his first goal of the season, eventually securing a narrow win for Real Madrid over a Juventus side that made them work hard. “It was a tough battle,” stated Thibaut Courtois.
Key Saves Secure the Victory
Courtois knew perfectly well, having to save a one-on-one from the Serbian striker and produce another decisive stop from Khéphren Thuram in the dying moments. The win leaves Madrid on nine points and the opposition team below the cut. At the end of a match with more shots than fluid football, the visiting coach may reflect on 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 difficulty is doubly threatening,” the Madrid coach had warned beforehand.
The Turin-based club, which were without a victory since last month, posed Madrid problems at the beginning and again near the end. Madrid dominated the ball, with a significant advantage, but Juventus threatened on the counter, especially with Pierre Kalulu surging forward and Vlahović linking up, managing a dozen attempts compared to the hosts' twenty-seven.
Promising Start for Visitors
The visitors began brightly, certainly. After just three minutes, they thought they were in front, Vlahović somewhat unlucky to be called for holding the Brazilian defender. Three minutes later, the Madrid defender had to intervene ahead of him when Kalulu dashed clear on the right. And soon after, Weston McKennie's shot was pushed wide.
Next, from the defender's drive, was a more impressive save. Fifteen minutes had passed. However, soon the visitors' impetus had dissipated too. Madrid took control. Largely it was rather mechanical, however, and the three best opportunities fell to Aurélien Tchouaméni, who wouldn’t be the coach's preferred forward. Two were off target, a third deflected wide; an additional chance with the head was wasted by the center-back.
Turkish Talent Impresses
The best moments were provided by 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 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 got to scoring. First his attempt was denied by the Juventus keeper, who would produce several stops. Next some exquisite dribbling saw him evade the full-back repeatedly until he went down to the turf and laid off to Militão to fire over.
Late Tension
The Brazilian threw himself to stop Kalulu at the start of the second period, and then came the regulation save from the keeper when suddenly Vlahović was away. The “assist” had been quite something, with the defender intercepting a pass inside his own penalty box and the ball bouncing from the instep of his boot right through the center to past the halfway line. Sprinting after it, ample room appearing, the striker raced Militão, using his strength and advancing into the area where Courtois saved.
Then what tends to happen happened, the save made good by the score that follows it. A flash from the Brazilian winger set up it, creating enough space amid four men to release a low, left-footed shot which struck the post. Lurking in that striker’s role was the goalscorer. The breakthrough found, Madrid ought to have sealed the game, the Frenchman denied by the keeper and the Uruguayan seeing his volley blocked by Gatti. Then Di Gregorio made a superb quick saves from the forward and the attacking midfielder.
It was not the only one: 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 unmarked in the area. Then in the dying moments the Madrid keeper flew in to stop Thuram, his work complete. For the visitors, there was no way back, Bellingham’s first of the season the last of the encounter.
“It’s a great feeling, a long time now since I’ve found the net, a period out and dreaming of that moment, returning in the Champions League and against a major opponent. To get the decisive goal, in our stadium, it’s incredible. I felt comfortable, really good. To play well was important and to score the winning goal helps the team greatly.”
Regarding his form, he continued: “I didn’t think last year was a failure, with 15 goals, 14 assists, 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 nonetheless positive spells but not the standard I aim to play at, not the caliber like the debut season. Now I’ve had my shoulder surgery, a different coach, he’s got that shape, how we want to play…. You have to take lessons.”
