It may not have been a match for the ages, the chanting from the Santiago Bernabéu was familiar. After a long wait, Jude Bellingham once again stood before the south end with his arms outstretched, basking in the fans' rendition of his anthem. After a shoulder injury and questions about his role, he scored his opening strike of the season, ultimately delivering a 1-0 victory for Real Madrid over a Juventus side that put up a fight. “We had to sweat for it,” commented Thibaut Courtois.
Decisive Stops Ensure the Win
The shot-stopper understood perfectly well, having to save a clear chance from the Serbian striker and make another crucial stop from Khéphren Thuram in the dying moments. This result puts Madrid on nine points and Igor Tudor’s team below the cut. At the end of a match with more shots than fluid football, the Juventus manager may reflect on a decent start, with those opportunities representing a wasted moment around the closing stages; their current situation though presents concerning reading.
“A side from Italy in difficulty is twice as dangerous,” the Madrid coach had warned beforehand.
The Turin-based club, who were without a victory since last month, did cause Madrid problems at the beginning and once more near the conclusion. Madrid dominated the ball, with a significant advantage, but Juventus threatened on the break, particularly with the French defender surging forward and Vlahović linking up, managing a dozen attempts compared to the home side's twenty-seven.
Strong Opening for Away Side
The visitors began brightly, without a doubt. Within three minutes, they thought they were in front, the forward somewhat unfortunate to be penalized for holding the Brazilian defender. Shortly after, the Madrid defender had to slide in front of Vlahović when Kalulu dashed clear on the right. And three minutes after that, Weston McKennie's effort was pushed past the post.
Next, from Federico Gatti's drive, was a more impressive save. Fifteen minutes had passed. That said, soon the visitors' impetus had dissipated too. Madrid took control. Largely it was all a bit functional, though, and the three best opportunities came 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 Militão.
Guler Shines
The best moments came from the young Turk. The Turk, whose play was the nearest thing there was to fluidity, was constantly in the action. His neat stop and turn saw him deliver to the back post for Bellingham.
There was not much sign of the French superstar early on, but when he did appear it was the closest Madrid got to scoring. First his shot was denied by the Juventus keeper, who would make several stops. Then some exquisite dribbling saw him turn the full-back repeatedly until he tumbled to the ground and laid off to Militão to fire over.
Late Tension
Militão dived to stop the runner at the outset of the second period, and then came the customary save from the keeper when suddenly the attacker was through. The “assist” had been remarkable, with Lloyd Kelly intercepting a pass inside his own penalty box and the sphere bouncing from the inside of his foot directly through the middle to beyond the halfway line. Sprinting after it, huge space appearing, the striker outpaced his marker, holding him off and heading into the box where Courtois made the stop.
Then the usual pattern happened, the stop compensated for by the goal that comes after it. A burst from Vinícius Júnior set up it, creating enough room amid four men to unleash a driven effort which hit the post. Positioned in that striker’s role was Bellingham. With the deadlock broken, Madrid ought to have sealed the game, Mbappé stopped by Di Gregorio and Fede Valverde seeing his volley blocked by the defender. Subsequently Di Gregorio made a brilliant double stop from the forward and Brahim Díaz.
It was not the only one: as the game was drawing to a close, Raúl Asencio had to make a incredible last-ditch tackle as Madrid were opened up and at the risk of Loïs Openda momentarily alone in the penalty box. Finally in the dying moments the Madrid keeper flew in to stop the midfielder, his work complete. For Juve, there was no route to a comeback, Bellingham’s first of the campaign the final of the match.
“It’s a great feeling, a long time now since I’ve scored, a period out and dreaming of that moment, returning in the Champions League and against a big team. To score a winner, in our stadium, it’s incredible. I felt comfortable, excellent. To perform was crucial and to net the match-winner helps the team greatly.”
As for his performance, he added: “It wasn't that last year was a failure, with fifteen strikes, fourteen setups, but I understand the perception was that it was worse. But I was a part of that, how we underperformed last year, there were nonetheless positive spells 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 intend to play…. You have to take lessons.”
