It may not have been a classic encounter, the roar from the Madrid's home stadium was unmistakable. After a long wait, Jude Bellingham finally found himself before the home supporters with his arms wide open, basking in the crowd's rendition of his anthem. After a shoulder injury and questions about his position, he netted his opening strike of the campaign, eventually securing a 1-0 victory for Real Madrid over a Juventus side that made them work hard. “We had to sweat for it,” stated Thibaut Courtois.
Key Saves Ensure the Victory
The shot-stopper knew perfectly well, having to save a clear chance from Dušan Vlahović and make another decisive stop from the French midfielder in the final minute. This result puts Madrid on a strong tally and Igor Tudor’s team outside the qualifying spots. At the end of a match with plenty of attempts but little elegance, the Juventus manager may reflect on a promising opening, with those opportunities representing a missed chance around the closing stages; their current situation though makes for concerning reading.
“An Italian team in difficulty is twice as dangerous,” Xabi Alonso had remarked beforehand.
Juventus, which hadn’t won since last month, posed Madrid problems at the start and once more near the end. Madrid dominated possession, with a significant advantage, but Juventus were dangerous on the counter, especially with the French defender running and Vlahović linking up, managing a dozen attempts compared to the home side's twenty-seven.
Promising Start for Visitors
They had started well, certainly. Within three minutes, they thought they were in front, the forward somewhat unlucky to be called for pulling the Brazilian defender. Three minutes later, Raúl Asencio had to intervene ahead of Vlahović when the wing-back dashed clear on the right flank. And soon after, the American midfielder's effort was pushed wide.
What followed, from the defender's drive, was a more impressive save. A quarter of an hour had passed. That said, quickly the visitors' impetus had dissipated as well. Madrid assumed command. Largely it was rather mechanical, however, and the top chances came to the French midfielder, who wouldn’t be the coach's preferred forward. Two were headed over, a third one took a deflection; an additional chance with the head was wasted by Militão.
Guler Shines
The best moments were provided by the young Turk. Güler, whose football was the closest there was to smooth attacking, was always involved. His neat stop and turn saw him deliver to the back post for Bellingham.
There was not much sign of Kylian Mbappé early on, but when he finally emerged it was the nearest Madrid came to scoring. First his attempt was stopped by Michele Di Gregorio, who would make eight saves. Next some exquisite dribbling saw him evade the full-back twice until he tumbled to the ground and laid off to Militão to blast over.
Late Tension
Militão threw himself to stop the runner at the start of the second half, and then came the customary save from the keeper when suddenly the attacker was away. The “inadvertent pass” had been remarkable, with Lloyd Kelly cutting out a pass inside his own area and the ball deflecting from the instep of his boot right through the center to beyond the halfway line. Sprinting after it, ample room appearing, the striker outpaced Militão, holding him off and heading into the box where the keeper made the stop.
Then what tends to happen happened, the stop made good by the score that comes after it. A flash from the Brazilian winger created it, creating enough space amid four men to unleash a driven effort which hit the upright. Positioned in that striker’s role was Bellingham. With the deadlock broken, Madrid ought to have sealed the game, Mbappé stopped by the keeper and Fede Valverde seeing his half-volley deflected by Gatti. Then the Juventus goalkeeper made a superb quick saves from Mbappé and Brahim Díaz.
There were more scares: as the match was slipping away, the defender had to make a stunning sliding block as Madrid were opened up and at the mercy of Loïs Openda unmarked in the penalty box. Finally in the final seconds the Madrid keeper dived to deny the midfielder, his job complete. For Juve, there was no route to a comeback, the opening goal of the campaign the last of the encounter.
“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 major opponent. To score a winner, here at home, it’s unbelievable. I was at ease, really good. To play well was crucial and to score the winning goal helps the team greatly.”
Regarding his performance, he continued: “It wasn't that last year was a failure, still fifteen strikes, 14 assists, but I understand the general feeling was that it was poorer. But I was a contributor to that, how we didn’t play as well last year, there were still good moments but not the standard I want to play at, not the level like the debut season. Now I’ve had my shoulder surgery, a new manager, he’s got that shape, how we intend to play…. You have to learn from it.”
