It may not have been a match for the ages, the roar from the Madrid's home stadium was unmistakable. Having been absent for some time, Jude Bellingham once again stood before the south end with his arms wide open, listening to the crowd's rendition of Hey Jude. Following a lengthy layoff and questions about his role, he netted his opening strike of the season, eventually securing a 1-0 victory for Real Madrid over a Juventus side that put up a fight. “It was a tough battle,” commented Thibaut Courtois.
Decisive Stops Ensure the Win
The shot-stopper understood perfectly well, having to rescue a clear chance from Dušan Vlahović and make another crucial save from the French midfielder in the dying moments. The win puts Madrid on nine points and the opposition team below the cut. After a game with more shots than fluid football, the Juventus manager may consider a decent start, with those saves representing a wasted moment around the closing stages; the team's reality however makes for worrying statistics.
“A side from Italy in difficulty is twice as dangerous,” the Madrid coach had remarked in advance.
The Turin-based club, who hadn’t won since September, did cause Madrid problems at the beginning and again near the end. Madrid dominated the ball, with a significant advantage, but Juventus threatened on the counter, particularly with Pierre Kalulu running and the striker combining, firing off a dozen attempts compared to the hosts' 27.
Promising Start for Away Side
The visitors began brightly, certainly. Within three minutes, they believed they were ahead, Vlahović somewhat unfortunate to be called for holding the Brazilian defender. Shortly after, the Madrid defender had to intervene in front of him when Kalulu broke free on the right. Then three minutes after that, the American midfielder's shot was pushed past the post.
Next, from the defender's powerful strike, was a more impressive save. A quarter of an hour had gone. However, quickly the Italians' momentum had faded as well. Madrid took control. Mostly it was rather mechanical, though, and the three best opportunities came to the French midfielder, who is not the coach's preferred forward. Two were headed over, a third one deflected wide; an additional chance with the head was wasted by Militão.
Guler Shines
The best moments came from the young Turk. The Turk, 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.
Little was seen of Kylian Mbappé yet, but when he finally emerged it was the closest Madrid came to a goal. Initially his shot was denied by Michele Di Gregorio, who would make several stops. Next some lovely fast footwork saw him turn Andrea Cambiaso twice until he tumbled to the ground and laid off to his teammate to blast over.
Second-Half Drama
The Brazilian threw himself to stop Kalulu at the start of the second period, and then came the regulation Courtois rescue when unexpectedly the attacker was away. The “assist” had been remarkable, with Lloyd Kelly cutting out a ball inside his own penalty box and the ball bouncing from the inside of his boot directly through the center to beyond the center circle. Sprinting after it, huge space opening, the striker outpaced his marker, holding him off and heading into the box where the keeper made the stop.
Next what tends to happen occurred, the stop compensated for by the score that comes after it. A flash from the Brazilian winger set up it, creating enough room amid four men to release a driven effort which struck the post. Positioned in that forward position was the goalscorer. The breakthrough found, Madrid ought to have sealed the game, the Frenchman stopped by the keeper and the Uruguayan seeing his volley blocked by Gatti. Subsequently the Juventus goalkeeper made a brilliant double stop from the forward and Brahim Díaz.
There were more scares: as the game was slipping away, Raúl Asencio had to make a stunning sliding block as Madrid were exposed and at the risk of the substitute unmarked in the penalty box. Then in the dying moments the Madrid keeper flew in to stop Thuram, his work complete. For the visitors, there was no way back, the opening goal of the season the last of the match.
“I'm overjoyed, a long time now since I’ve scored, a period out and thinking of that moment, back in the Champions League and against a major opponent. To get the decisive goal, here at home, it’s unbelievable. I was at ease, really good. To play well was important and to net the match-winner helps the team greatly.”
As for his performance, he added: “I didn’t think last year was a failure, with fifteen strikes, fourteen setups, but I know the general feeling was that it was worse. But I was a part of that, how we underperformed last year, there were nonetheless good moments but not the standard I aim to play at, not the caliber like the debut season. Now I’ve had my operation, a new manager, he’s got that shape, how we want to play…. You have to learn from it.”
