While it wasn't a match for the ages, the roar from the Madrid's home stadium was familiar. Having been absent for some time, Jude Bellingham finally found himself before the home supporters with his arms outstretched, listening to the fans' singing of Hey Jude. After a lengthy layoff and uncertainty about his role, he scored his first goal of the campaign, eventually securing a 1-0 victory for Real Madrid over a Juventus side that made them work hard. “It was a tough battle,” stated Thibaut Courtois.
Decisive Stops Ensure the Win
Courtois knew perfectly well, having to rescue a clear chance from Dušan Vlahović and produce another crucial save from Khéphren Thuram in the dying moments. The win leaves Madrid on a strong tally and the opposition team below the cut. At the end of a match with plenty of attempts but little elegance, the visiting coach may reflect on a promising opening, with those opportunities representing a wasted moment around the 85-minute mark; the team's reality though makes for concerning reading.
“An Italian team in difficulty is twice as dangerous,” the Madrid coach had warned beforehand.
The Turin-based club, who were without a victory since September, posed Madrid problems at the beginning and once more near the end. Madrid commanded the ball, 66%-34%, but Juventus were dangerous on the counter, particularly with the French defender running and the striker combining, firing off a dozen attempts compared to the hosts' 27.
Promising Start for Visitors
The visitors began brightly, certainly. Within three minutes, they believed they were ahead, the forward somewhat unlucky to be penalized for holding the Brazilian defender. Three minutes later, the Madrid defender had to slide in front of Vlahović when Kalulu dashed clear on the right flank. Then soon after, the American midfielder's effort was deflected past the post.
What followed, from Federico Gatti's powerful strike, was a even better stop. A quarter of an hour had passed. However, soon the Italians' momentum had dissipated as well. Madrid took control. Mostly it was all a bit functional, however, and the three best opportunities fell to the French midfielder, who wouldn’t be Alonso’s striker of choice. Two were off target, a third one took a deflection; another headed opportunity was missed by the center-back.
Guler Shines
The best moments came from Arda Güler. Güler, whose football was the closest there was to smooth attacking, was always involved. His neat stop and turn saw him deliver to the far 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. Initially his attempt was denied by the Juventus keeper, who would make several stops. Then some exquisite dribbling saw him evade the full-back twice until he went down to the turf and set up his teammate to fire over.
Late Tension
Militão threw himself to stop the runner at the outset of the second half, and then came the regulation save from the keeper when unexpectedly Vlahović was away. The “inadvertent pass” had been remarkable, with the defender 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. Racing after it, huge space opening, the striker outpaced Militão, using his strength and advancing into the area where Courtois made the stop.
Next what tends to happen occurred, the stop made good by the score that follows it. A flash from Vinícius Júnior set up it, creating enough room amid multiple defenders to release a driven effort which struck the upright. Lurking in that striker’s role was the goalscorer. The breakthrough found, Madrid ought to have sealed the game, Mbappé denied by Di Gregorio and the Uruguayan seeing his half-volley deflected by the defender. Subsequently the Juventus goalkeeper made a brilliant double stop from the forward and Brahim Díaz.
There were more scares: as the game was drawing to a close, 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 penalty box. Then in the dying moments the Madrid keeper flew in to deny the midfielder, his work done. For the visitors, there was no route to a comeback, the opening goal of the campaign the last of the match.
“I'm overjoyed, a while now since I’ve scored, a period out and dreaming of that instant, back in the Champions League and against a major opponent. To score a winner, here at home, it’s incredible. I felt comfortable, excellent. To perform was important and to score the winning goal benefits the team a lot.”
As for his form, he added: “It wasn't that last year was a failure, with 15 goals, fourteen setups, but I know 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 positive spells but not the standard I want to play at, not the caliber like the debut season. Now I’ve had my operation, a different coach, he’s got that shape, how we want to play…. You have to learn from it.”
