It may not have been a match for the ages, the roar from the Madrid's home stadium was familiar. After a long wait, Jude Bellingham once again found himself before the home supporters with his arms wide open, basking in the fans' rendition of his anthem. After a lengthy layoff and questions about his position, he netted his opening strike of the campaign, ultimately securing a narrow win for Real Madrid over a Italian opponent that put up a fight. “We had to sweat for it,” stated Thibaut Courtois.
Key Saves Secure the Win
Courtois knew perfectly well, having to rescue a clear chance from Dušan Vlahović and produce another decisive stop from Khéphren Thuram in the final minute. This result puts Madrid on a strong tally and Igor Tudor’s team outside the qualifying spots. After a game with plenty of attempts but little elegance, the visiting coach may reflect on a decent start, with those opportunities representing a missed chance around the closing stages; their current situation however makes for worrying statistics.
“A side from Italy in difficulty is twice as dangerous,” Xabi Alonso had remarked beforehand.
The Turin-based club, who were without a victory since September, posed Madrid problems at the beginning and again near the conclusion. Madrid commanded possession, 66%-34%, but Juventus threatened on the break, especially with Pierre Kalulu surging forward and the striker linking up, firing off a dozen attempts compared to the hosts' twenty-seven.
Promising Start for Visitors
The visitors began brightly, without a doubt. After just three minutes, they believed they were in front, Vlahović somewhat unfortunate to be penalized for pulling Éder Militão. Three minutes later, Raúl Asencio had to slide in front of Vlahović when Kalulu broke free on the right. Then soon after, the American midfielder's effort was deflected wide.
What followed, from Federico Gatti's powerful strike, was a more impressive stop. Fifteen minutes had passed. However, quickly the visitors' impetus had dissipated as well. Madrid assumed command. Mostly it was rather mechanical, though, and the three best opportunities fell to the French midfielder, who wouldn’t be the coach's preferred forward. Two were headed over, a third took a deflection; an additional headed opportunity was missed by the center-back.
Guler Shines
Most creative play came from Arda Güler. Güler, whose football was the closest there was to smooth attacking, was always involved. His clever control and spin saw him deliver to the back post for the Englishman.
There was not much sign of the French superstar yet, but when he did appear it was the nearest Madrid came to a goal. First his shot was stopped by the Juventus keeper, who would produce eight saves. Next some lovely fast footwork saw him evade Andrea Cambiaso repeatedly until he went down to the turf and set up his teammate to fire over.
Second-Half Drama
Militão threw himself to halt the runner at the start of the second half, and then came the customary Courtois rescue when unexpectedly the attacker was away. The “assist” had been quite something, with Lloyd Kelly intercepting a pass inside his own penalty box and the ball bouncing from the instep of his foot right through the center to beyond the center circle. Sprinting after it, huge space appearing, the striker outpaced Militão, holding him off and advancing into the box where Courtois saved.
Then what tends to happen happened, the stop compensated for by the score that comes after it. A burst from Vinícius Júnior created it, working himself enough room amid four men to release a driven effort which hit the post. Lurking in that striker’s role was the goalscorer. With the deadlock broken, Madrid ought to have sealed the game, Mbappé denied by the keeper and the Uruguayan seeing his volley blocked by Gatti. Then the Juventus goalkeeper made a brilliant double stop from Mbappé and the attacking midfielder.
There were more scares: as the game was slipping away, Raúl Asencio had to make a stunning sliding block as Madrid were opened up and at the risk of Loïs Openda momentarily alone in the area. Finally in the dying moments the Madrid keeper dived to stop the midfielder, his job done. For the visitors, there was no route to a comeback, Bellingham’s first of the season the last of the encounter.
“It’s a great feeling, a long time now since I’ve found the net, a lot of time out and dreaming of that moment, returning in the Champions League and against a major opponent. To get the decisive goal, in our stadium, it’s unbelievable. I was at ease, excellent. To play well was important and to net the match-winner helps the team greatly.”
Regarding his performance, he continued: “I didn’t think last year was a disaster, still 15 goals, 14 assists, but I understand the perception was that it was poorer. But I was a part of 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 level like the first year. Now I’ve had my shoulder surgery, a new manager, he’s got that system, how we want to play…. You have to take lessons.”
