It may not have been a classic encounter, the chanting from the Santiago Bernabéu was unmistakable. Having been absent for some time, Jude Bellingham once again stood before the south end with his arms wide open, basking in the fans' singing of his anthem. After a lengthy layoff and questions about his position, he scored his opening strike of the campaign, eventually delivering a narrow win for Real Madrid over a Juventus side that put up a fight. “It was a tough battle,” commented Thibaut Courtois.
Decisive Stops Secure the Win
The shot-stopper understood perfectly well, having to rescue a one-on-one from Dušan Vlahović and make another decisive stop from the French midfielder in the final minute. The win leaves Madrid on a strong tally and Igor Tudor’s team outside the qualifying spots. At the end of a game with plenty of attempts but little elegance, the Juventus manager may reflect on a decent start, with those saves representing a wasted moment around the closing stages; their current situation however makes for concerning reading.
“An Italian team in difficulty is twice as dangerous,” the Madrid coach had warned beforehand.
The Turin-based club, which were without a victory since September, posed Madrid issues at the start and once more near the end. Madrid dominated possession, with a significant advantage, but Juventus were dangerous on the break, particularly with the French defender surging forward and the striker combining, firing off 12 shots compared to the hosts' 27.
Strong Opening for Away Side
They had started well, certainly. Within three minutes, they thought they were ahead, the forward somewhat unlucky to be penalized for pulling Éder Militão. Three minutes later, the Madrid defender had to slide in front of Vlahović when the wing-back dashed clear on the right flank. Then three minutes after that, the American midfielder's shot was pushed past the post.
Next, from the defender's drive, was a more impressive stop. A quarter of an hour had passed. That said, quickly the Italians' momentum had dissipated too. Madrid assumed command. Largely it was all a bit functional, however, and the three best opportunities came to Aurélien Tchouaméni, who is not Alonso’s striker of choice. A couple were off target, a third took a deflection; another chance with the head was missed by the center-back.
Turkish Talent Impresses
The best moments were provided by Arda Güler. The Turk, whose football was the nearest thing there was to fluidity, was always involved. 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 a goal. First his shot was stopped by Michele Di Gregorio, who would make eight saves. Then some lovely fast footwork saw him turn the full-back repeatedly until he tumbled to the ground and laid off to his teammate to blast over.
Late Tension
The Brazilian threw himself to halt Kalulu at the start of the second period, and then came the customary Courtois rescue when unexpectedly Vlahović was away. The “assist” had been quite something, with the defender cutting out a pass inside his own penalty box and the ball bouncing from the instep of his boot right through the center to beyond the center circle. Sprinting after it, huge space appearing, Vlahović raced his marker, holding him off and heading into the box where Courtois made the stop.
Then what tends to happen occurred, the stop compensated for by the score that comes after it. A flash from Vinícius Júnior set up it, creating enough room amid four men to release a driven effort which struck the upright. Lurking in that striker’s role was Bellingham. The breakthrough found, Madrid ought to have sealed the game, Mbappé stopped by Di Gregorio and Fede Valverde seeing his half-volley blocked by the defender. Then Di Gregorio made a superb quick saves from Mbappé 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 exposed and at the risk of Loïs Openda unmarked in the area. Finally in the final seconds the Madrid keeper flew in to deny the midfielder, his job done. For the visitors, there was no route to a comeback, the opening goal of the campaign the final of the encounter.
“I'm overjoyed, a long time now since I’ve found the net, a period out and thinking of that moment, back in the elite competition and against a major opponent. To score a winner, here at home, it’s unbelievable. I felt comfortable, excellent. To play well was important and to net the match-winner helps the team a lot.”
As for his form, he continued: “I didn’t think last year was a failure, still 15 goals, 14 assists, but I know the perception was that it was worse. But I was a part of that, how we underperformed last year, there were still good moments but not the standard I want to play at, not the caliber like the first year. Now I’ve had my operation, a different coach, he’s got that shape, how we want to play…. You have to take lessons.”
