It may not have been a match for the ages, the chanting from the Santiago Bernabéu was familiar. Having been absent for some time, Jude Bellingham once again stood before the south end with his arms outstretched, basking in the crowd's rendition of his anthem. Following a shoulder injury and uncertainty about his position, he netted his first goal of the season, eventually delivering a narrow win for Real Madrid over a Italian opponent that put up a fight. “We had to sweat for it,” stated the Belgian goalkeeper.
Decisive Stops Ensure the Victory
Courtois understood perfectly well, having to save a clear chance from the Serbian striker and produce another crucial save from Khéphren Thuram in the final minute. The win leaves Madrid on a strong tally and the opposition team below the cut. At the end of a match with more shots than fluid football, the visiting coach may consider a promising opening, with those opportunities representing a wasted moment around the closing stages; their current situation however makes for worrying statistics.
“A side from Italy in difficulty is doubly threatening,” Xabi Alonso had warned beforehand.
Juventus, which hadn’t won since September, did cause Madrid issues at the beginning and once more near the conclusion. Madrid dominated the ball, 66%-34%, but Juventus were dangerous on the counter, particularly with Pierre Kalulu surging forward and the striker linking up, firing off 12 shots compared to the home side's 27.
Promising Start for Away Side
They had started well, without a doubt. Within three minutes, they believed they were in front, Vlahović somewhat unfortunate to be called for holding Éder Militão. Three minutes later, the Madrid defender had to intervene in front of Vlahović when the wing-back dashed clear on the right. Then three minutes after that, the American midfielder's effort was deflected past the post.
What followed, from the defender's powerful strike, was a more impressive stop. Fifteen minutes had gone. However, quickly the Italians' momentum had faded as well. Madrid assumed command. Largely it was all a bit functional, though, and the three best opportunities fell to the French midfielder, who is not the coach's preferred forward. Two were off target, a third took a deflection; an additional headed opportunity was missed by the center-back.
Guler Shines
Most creative play came from Arda Güler. The Turk, 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 the Englishman.
Little was seen of the French superstar early on, but when he finally emerged it was the nearest Madrid got to scoring. Initially his shot was stopped by the Juventus keeper, who would produce several stops. Then some lovely fast footwork saw him turn the full-back repeatedly until he tumbled to the ground and laid off to Militão to fire over.
Second-Half Drama
The Brazilian threw himself to halt Kalulu at the outset of the second half, and then came the customary Courtois rescue when suddenly Vlahović was away. The “assist” had been quite something, with Lloyd Kelly intercepting a pass inside his own area and the ball bouncing from the inside of his boot directly through the middle to beyond the halfway line. Sprinting after it, ample room opening, Vlahović raced Militão, holding him off and advancing into the box where Courtois saved.
Then the usual pattern happened, the stop compensated for by the score that comes after it. A burst from Vinícius Júnior set up it, creating enough space 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, Mbappé stopped by the keeper and Fede Valverde seeing his volley deflected by Gatti. Then Di Gregorio made a brilliant double stop from the forward and Brahim Díaz.
There were more scares: as the game was drawing to a close, the defender had to make a stunning sliding block as Madrid were opened up and at the risk of Loïs Openda unmarked in the area. Finally in the final seconds Courtois dived to deny Thuram, his work done. For Juve, there was no way back, the opening goal of the campaign the last of the match.
“I'm overjoyed, a long time now since I’ve found the net, a lot of time out and thinking of that instant, back in the Champions League and against a big team. To score a winner, in our stadium, it’s unbelievable. I felt comfortable, excellent. To play well was important and to score the winning goal helps the team greatly.”
Regarding his form, he added: “I didn’t think last year was a failure, still 15 goals, 14 assists, but I know the general feeling was that it was worse. But I was a part of that, how we underperformed last year, there were nonetheless good moments but not the standard I aim 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.”
