It may not have been a match for the ages, the chanting from the Santiago Bernabéu was familiar. After a long wait, Jude Bellingham finally stood before the south end with his arms outstretched, listening to the crowd's rendition of his anthem. After a shoulder injury and questions about his role, he netted his opening strike of the season, eventually securing a narrow win for Real Madrid over a Juventus side that put up a fight. “We had to sweat for it,” stated the Belgian goalkeeper.
Decisive Stops Ensure the Victory
Courtois knew perfectly well, having to save a one-on-one from Dušan Vlahović and produce another decisive stop from the French midfielder in the final minute. The win puts Madrid on a strong tally and Igor Tudor’s team below the cut. After a game with plenty of attempts but little elegance, the Juventus manager may reflect on a decent start, with those opportunities representing a missed chance around the closing stages; their current situation however presents worrying statistics.
“A side from Italy in trouble is twice as dangerous,” Xabi Alonso had warned in advance.
Juventus, who were without a victory since September, did cause Madrid problems at the beginning and again near the end. Madrid commanded the ball, 66%-34%, but Juventus were dangerous on the counter, especially with Pierre Kalulu running and Vlahović linking up, managing a dozen attempts compared to the home side's 27.
Promising Start for Away Side
They had started well, without a doubt. After just three minutes, they believed they were ahead, Vlahović a little unfortunate to be called for holding Éder Militão. Shortly after, the Madrid defender had to intervene in front of him when Kalulu broke free on the right flank. And three minutes after that, the American midfielder's effort was deflected wide.
What followed, from the defender's powerful strike, was a even better stop. Fifteen minutes had gone. That said, soon the Italians' momentum had faded too. Madrid took control. Largely it was rather mechanical, however, and the three best opportunities came to Aurélien Tchouaméni, who wouldn’t be the coach's preferred forward. Two were off target, a third one deflected wide; an additional headed opportunity was wasted by Militão.
Turkish Talent Impresses
The best moments were provided by Arda Güler. Güler, whose play was the closest there was to fluidity, was always involved. His neat stop and turn saw him deliver to the far post for the Englishman.
Little was seen of Kylian Mbappé early on, but when he did appear it was the closest Madrid got to scoring. Initially his attempt was denied by Michele Di Gregorio, who would make eight saves. Then some exquisite dribbling saw him turn the full-back twice until he went down to the ground and set up Militão to fire over.
Late Tension
Militão threw himself to halt Kalulu at the outset of the second period, and then came the customary save from the keeper when suddenly the attacker was away. The “inadvertent pass” had been quite something, with the defender cutting out a pass inside his own penalty box and the sphere deflecting from the instep of his foot right through the middle to past the halfway line. Sprinting after it, huge space opening, the striker outpaced his marker, using his strength and advancing into the box where the keeper made the stop.
Next what tends to happen happened, the save compensated for by the score that follows it. A flash from the Brazilian winger created it, creating enough space amid multiple defenders to release a driven effort which struck the upright. Lurking in that forward position was Bellingham. With the deadlock broken, Madrid ought to have sealed the game, Mbappé stopped by Di Gregorio and the Uruguayan seeing his half-volley blocked by the defender. Then Di Gregorio made a brilliant double stop from the forward and the attacking midfielder.
It was not the only one: as the game was drawing to a close, the defender had to make a stunning sliding block as Madrid were exposed and at the mercy of Loïs Openda momentarily alone in the penalty box. Finally in the dying moments the Madrid keeper dived to stop the midfielder, his work complete. For Juve, there was no route to a comeback, Bellingham’s first of the season the last of the match.
“I'm overjoyed, a while now since I’ve found the net, a lot of time out and thinking of that moment, back in the Champions League and against a big team. To score a winner, in our stadium, it’s incredible. I was at ease, really good. To perform was crucial and to net the match-winner helps the team a lot.”
Regarding his performance, he continued: “I didn’t think last year was a failure, with 15 goals, fourteen setups, but I know the perception was that it was poorer. But I was a contributor to that, how we underperformed last year, there were nonetheless good moments but not the level I want to play at, not the level like the debut season. Now I’ve had my operation, a different coach, he’s got that shape, how we intend to play…. You have to take lessons.”
