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 once again stood 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 position, he netted his opening strike of the season, eventually delivering a 1-0 victory for Real Madrid over a Italian opponent that made them work hard. “We had to sweat for it,” commented Thibaut Courtois.
Decisive Stops Secure the Victory
The shot-stopper understood perfectly well, having to rescue a clear chance from the Serbian striker and produce another crucial save from Khéphren Thuram in the dying moments. This result leaves Madrid on a strong tally and the opposition team outside the qualifying spots. At the end of a match with more shots than fluid football, the visiting coach may consider a decent start, with those saves representing a wasted moment around the 85-minute mark; their current situation though makes for worrying statistics.
“An Italian team in difficulty is doubly threatening,” Xabi Alonso had warned beforehand.
Juventus, who hadn’t won since September, posed Madrid issues at the start and once more near the conclusion. Madrid commanded the ball, with a significant advantage, but Juventus threatened on the break, particularly with Pierre Kalulu running and Vlahović combining, managing 12 shots compared to the home side's twenty-seven.
Promising Start for Visitors
The visitors began brightly, without a doubt. After just three minutes, they thought they were ahead, Vlahović somewhat unfortunate to be penalized for pulling the Brazilian defender. Shortly after, Raúl Asencio had to slide in front of Vlahović when the wing-back dashed clear on the right flank. Then three minutes after that, Weston McKennie's effort was pushed past the post.
Next, from Federico Gatti's powerful strike, was a more impressive stop. Fifteen minutes had passed. That said, quickly the visitors' impetus had faded as well. Madrid assumed command. Largely it was rather mechanical, however, and the three best opportunities came to the French midfielder, who wouldn’t be the coach's preferred forward. Two were off target, a third one deflected wide; an additional headed opportunity was wasted by Militão.
Guler Shines
The best moments were provided by the young Turk. The Turk, whose play was the nearest thing there was to smooth attacking, was constantly in the action. His clever control and spin saw him deliver to the back post for Bellingham.
Little was seen 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 turn the full-back repeatedly until he went down to the turf and laid off to his teammate to blast over.
Late Tension
The Brazilian dived to stop the runner at the outset of the second half, and then came the regulation save from the keeper when suddenly the attacker was through. The “assist” had been quite something, with Lloyd Kelly cutting out a ball inside his own penalty box and the sphere bouncing from the instep of his foot directly through the center to beyond the halfway line. Racing after it, ample room opening, Vlahović outpaced his marker, using his strength and heading into the box where Courtois made the stop.
Next what tends to happen occurred, the save made good by the score that comes after it. A burst from the Brazilian winger created it, creating enough room amid four men to unleash a driven effort which struck the post. Lurking in that striker’s role was the goalscorer. With the deadlock broken, Madrid ought to have sealed the game, the Frenchman denied by Di Gregorio and the Uruguayan seeing his half-volley deflected by Gatti. Then the Juventus goalkeeper made a superb quick saves from Mbappé and the attacking midfielder.
There were more scares: as the game was drawing to a close, the defender had to make a incredible last-ditch tackle as Madrid were exposed and at the mercy of the substitute unmarked in the area. Then in the final seconds the Madrid keeper flew in to deny the midfielder, his job complete. For Juve, there was no route to a comeback, Bellingham’s first of the campaign the last of the match.
“It’s a great feeling, a long time now since I’ve scored, a period out and dreaming of that moment, back in the elite competition and against a big team. To score a winner, in our stadium, it’s incredible. I was at ease, excellent. To play well was important and to net the match-winner benefits the team greatly.”
As for his form, he continued: “I didn’t think last year was a disaster, still 15 goals, fourteen setups, but I understand the general feeling was that it was poorer. But I was a contributor to that, how we didn’t play as well last year, there were nonetheless good moments but not the standard I want to play at, not the caliber like the debut season. Now I’ve had my shoulder surgery, a different coach, he’s got that shape, how we want to play…. You have to take lessons.”
