It may not have been a match for the ages, the chanting from the Madrid's home stadium was familiar. After a long wait, Jude Bellingham finally found himself before the home supporters with his arms wide open, basking in the crowd's singing of Hey Jude. Following a lengthy layoff and uncertainty about his role, he scored his opening strike of the season, ultimately securing a narrow win for Real Madrid over a Italian opponent that put up a fight. “We had to sweat for it,” commented Thibaut Courtois.
Key Saves Ensure the Victory
The shot-stopper understood perfectly well, having to rescue a one-on-one from the Serbian striker and make another decisive save from the French midfielder in the final minute. This result puts Madrid on a strong tally and Igor Tudor’s team below the cut. At the end of a match with plenty of attempts but little elegance, the Juventus manager may consider a decent start, with those saves representing a missed chance around the closing stages; their current situation however presents worrying statistics.
“An Italian team in trouble is twice as dangerous,” the Madrid coach had remarked beforehand.
Juventus, who were without a victory since September, posed Madrid issues at the beginning and once more near the conclusion. Madrid dominated the ball, with a significant advantage, but Juventus were dangerous on the break, especially with Pierre Kalulu surging forward and the striker combining, managing a dozen attempts compared to the home side's 27.
Strong Opening for Away Side
They had started well, without a doubt. After just three minutes, they thought they were in front, the forward a little unlucky to be penalized for pulling the Brazilian defender. Three minutes later, the Madrid defender had to intervene in front of him when the wing-back broke free on the right flank. Then three minutes after that, Weston McKennie's shot was pushed past the post.
Next, from the defender's powerful strike, was a more impressive stop. A quarter of an hour had passed. However, quickly the visitors' impetus had faded as well. Madrid assumed command. Mostly it was all a bit functional, however, and the three best opportunities fell to Aurélien Tchouaméni, who is not Alonso’s striker of choice. A couple were off target, a third took a deflection; an additional chance with the head was wasted by Militão.
Guler Shines
Most creative play were provided by Arda Güler. Güler, whose play was the closest there was to fluidity, was always involved. His neat stop and turn saw him clip to the far post for the Englishman.
There was not much sign of the French superstar early on, but when he did appear it was the nearest Madrid came to scoring. Initially his attempt was stopped by Michele Di Gregorio, who would make several stops. Next some lovely fast footwork saw him turn the full-back repeatedly until he went down to the ground and set up his teammate to fire over.
Second-Half Drama
Militão threw himself to halt Kalulu at the outset of the second period, and then came the customary save from the keeper when unexpectedly the attacker was through. The “assist” had been remarkable, with Lloyd Kelly cutting out a pass inside his own area and the ball bouncing from the instep of his boot directly through the middle to beyond the center circle. Sprinting after it, huge space appearing, Vlahović outpaced his marker, holding him off and heading into the area where Courtois made the stop.
Next the usual pattern occurred, the stop compensated for by the goal that comes after it. A flash from the Brazilian winger created it, working himself enough space amid four men to unleash a driven effort which struck the upright. Positioned in that forward position was the goalscorer. The breakthrough found, Madrid should have finished it, the Frenchman stopped by the keeper and Fede Valverde seeing his volley blocked by the defender. Then Di Gregorio made a superb quick saves from Mbappé and Brahim Díaz.
There were more scares: as the match was drawing to a close, the defender had to make a incredible last-ditch tackle as Madrid were opened up and at the risk of Loïs Openda unmarked in the area. Then in the final seconds Courtois flew in to deny Thuram, his job done. For the visitors, there was no route to a comeback, Bellingham’s first of the season the last of the match.
“It’s a great feeling, a while now since I’ve scored, a period out and thinking of that instant, returning in the elite competition and against a major opponent. To get the decisive goal, here at home, it’s incredible. I felt comfortable, really good. To perform was important and to net the match-winner benefits the team greatly.”
Regarding his performance, he added: “I didn’t think last year was a disaster, with 15 goals, 14 assists, but I know the perception was that it was poorer. But I was a contributor to that, how we underperformed last year, there were still good moments but not the level I want to play at, not the caliber like the first year. Now I’ve had my shoulder surgery, a different coach, he’s got that system, how we intend to play…. You have to take lessons.”
