It may not have been a match for the ages, the roar from the Madrid's home stadium was unmistakable. Having been absent for some time, Jude Bellingham once again found himself before the south end with his arms wide open, listening to the crowd's singing of Hey Jude. Following a lengthy layoff and questions about his position, he scored his first goal of the season, eventually securing a narrow win for Real Madrid over a Italian opponent that put up a fight. “It was a tough battle,” stated Thibaut Courtois.
Key Saves Secure the Win
The shot-stopper knew perfectly well, having to save a one-on-one from Dušan Vlahović and produce another decisive stop from the French midfielder in the dying moments. The win puts Madrid on nine points and the opposition team outside the qualifying spots. At the end of a game with plenty of attempts but little elegance, the visiting coach may consider a promising opening, with those opportunities representing a missed chance around the 85-minute mark; their current situation though makes for concerning reading.
“A side from Italy in difficulty is twice as dangerous,” the Madrid coach had remarked beforehand.
The Turin-based club, who hadn’t won since September, posed Madrid issues at the start and once more near the end. Madrid commanded the ball, with a significant advantage, but Juventus were dangerous on the counter, especially with the French defender running and Vlahović combining, firing off a dozen attempts compared to the home side's twenty-seven.
Promising Start for Visitors
They had started well, certainly. Within three minutes, they believed they were in front, Vlahović a little unlucky to be penalized for pulling Éder Militão. Three minutes later, the Madrid defender had to intervene in front of Vlahović when Kalulu broke free on the right. Then three minutes after that, Weston McKennie's shot was pushed wide.
Next, from Federico Gatti's powerful strike, was a even better stop. A quarter of an hour had gone. However, quickly the Italians' momentum had dissipated too. Madrid assumed command. Mostly it was rather mechanical, though, and the top chances fell to Aurélien Tchouaméni, who is not Alonso’s striker of choice. Two were off target, a third one deflected wide; an additional chance with the head was wasted by Militão.
Guler Shines
The best moments came from Arda Güler. Güler, whose football was the nearest thing there was to smooth attacking, was always involved. His neat stop and turn saw him deliver to the back post for the Englishman.
There was not much sign of the French superstar early on, but when he finally emerged it was the closest Madrid got to scoring. First his shot was stopped by the Juventus keeper, who would produce eight saves. Then some exquisite dribbling saw him evade Andrea Cambiaso twice until he tumbled to the ground and laid off to his teammate to blast over.
Late Tension
Militão threw himself to stop Kalulu at the start of the second half, and then came the regulation save from the keeper when suddenly Vlahović was away. The “inadvertent pass” had been quite something, with Lloyd Kelly intercepting a pass inside his own penalty box and the sphere deflecting from the inside of his boot right through the middle to beyond the center circle. Sprinting after it, ample room opening, the striker outpaced his marker, holding him off and heading into the area where Courtois made the stop.
Next what tends to happen occurred, the stop compensated for by the score that comes after it. A burst from the Brazilian winger created it, creating enough room amid four men to release a driven effort which hit the upright. 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 Fede Valverde seeing his volley blocked by Gatti. Subsequently the Juventus goalkeeper made a brilliant double stop from Mbappé and the attacking midfielder.
There were more scares: as the match was drawing to a close, Raúl Asencio had to make a incredible last-ditch tackle as Madrid were opened up and at the mercy of the substitute unmarked in the penalty box. Finally in the dying moments the Madrid keeper dived to deny the midfielder, his job done. For Juve, there was no way back, the opening goal of the campaign the final of the match.
“It’s a great feeling, a while now since I’ve found the net, a lot of time out and thinking of that instant, returning in the Champions League and against a major opponent. To get the decisive goal, here at home, it’s unbelievable. I felt comfortable, excellent. To perform was crucial and to net the match-winner benefits the team a lot.”
Regarding his performance, he continued: “It wasn't that last year was a disaster, still fifteen strikes, 14 assists, but I understand the perception 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 level 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 system, how we want to play…. You have to take lessons.”
