It may not have been a match for the ages, the chanting from the Santiago Bernabéu was unmistakable. Having been absent for some time, Jude Bellingham once again found himself before the south end with his arms outstretched, listening to the crowd's singing of Hey Jude. Following a shoulder injury and uncertainty about his position, he netted his first goal of the season, ultimately delivering 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.
Decisive Stops Ensure the Victory
Courtois understood perfectly well, having to rescue a one-on-one from the Serbian striker and produce another crucial stop from Khéphren Thuram in the final minute. The win leaves Madrid on nine points and the opposition team below the cut. After a match with more shots than fluid football, the visiting coach may reflect on a decent start, with those saves representing a missed chance around the closing stages; their current situation however makes for concerning reading.
“A side from Italy in trouble is doubly threatening,” the Madrid coach had warned in advance.
Juventus, who hadn’t won since September, posed Madrid issues at the beginning and once more near the conclusion. Madrid commanded the ball, 66%-34%, but Juventus were dangerous on the counter, particularly with the French defender surging forward and the striker combining, managing 12 shots compared to the home side's twenty-seven.
Strong Opening for Visitors
The visitors began brightly, without a doubt. After just three minutes, they believed they were ahead, the forward a little unlucky to be penalized for pulling Éder Militão. Three minutes later, the Madrid defender had to slide ahead of him when Kalulu broke free on the right. And three minutes after that, Weston McKennie's effort was pushed wide.
Next, from the defender's powerful strike, was a more impressive save. Fifteen minutes had passed. However, soon the visitors' impetus had faded too. Madrid assumed command. Largely it was all a bit functional, though, and the top chances fell to Aurélien Tchouaméni, who is not Alonso’s striker of choice. A couple were headed over, a third deflected wide; an additional chance with the head was missed by Militão.
Turkish Talent Impresses
Most creative play came from Arda Güler. The Turk, whose play was the closest there was to fluidity, was constantly in the action. His neat stop and turn saw him clip to the far post for the Englishman.
Little was seen of Kylian Mbappé 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 lovely fast footwork saw him turn Andrea Cambiaso repeatedly until he went down to the ground and set up his teammate to blast over.
Second-Half Drama
Militão threw himself to halt the runner at the outset of the second half, and then came the regulation Courtois rescue when suddenly Vlahović was away. The “assist” had been quite something, with Lloyd Kelly cutting out a ball inside his own area and the sphere bouncing from the instep of his boot directly through the middle to past the center circle. Racing after it, huge space opening, Vlahović outpaced his marker, using his strength and heading into the box where the keeper made the stop.
Next the usual pattern occurred, the stop compensated for by the goal that comes after it. A flash from Vinícius Júnior created it, creating enough room amid four men to release a driven effort which struck the upright. Lurking in that forward position was Bellingham. The breakthrough found, Madrid ought to have sealed the game, the Frenchman stopped by Di Gregorio and the Uruguayan seeing his half-volley deflected by the defender. Subsequently 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 incredible last-ditch tackle as Madrid were exposed and at the risk of the substitute unmarked in the penalty box. Finally in the final seconds the Madrid keeper flew in to deny Thuram, his work done. For Juve, there was no route to a comeback, Bellingham’s first of the campaign the final of the match.
“It’s a great feeling, a while now since I’ve found the net, a period out and thinking of that instant, returning in the Champions League and against a big team. To get the decisive goal, in our stadium, it’s incredible. I was at ease, excellent. To perform was important and to score the winning goal benefits the team a lot.”
As for his form, he added: “I didn’t think last year was a failure, still fifteen strikes, 14 assists, but I understand the perception was that it was worse. But I was a contributor to that, how we underperformed last year, there were still positive spells but not the level I aim to play at, not the level like the debut season. Now I’ve had my operation, a different coach, he’s got that system, how we intend to play…. You have to take lessons.”
