It may not have been a classic encounter, the roar from the Santiago Bernabéu was familiar. Having been absent for some time, Jude Bellingham once again stood before the south end with his arms outstretched, listening to the fans' singing of his anthem. Following a lengthy layoff and uncertainty about his position, he netted his opening strike of the season, ultimately delivering a narrow win for Real Madrid over a Juventus side that made them work hard. “We had to sweat for it,” commented the Belgian goalkeeper.
Decisive Stops Ensure the Win
Courtois understood better than anyone, having to save a one-on-one from Dušan Vlahović and make another decisive save from Khéphren Thuram in the dying moments. This result leaves Madrid on nine points 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 opportunities representing a wasted moment around the closing stages; the team's reality however presents concerning reading.
“A side from Italy in difficulty is twice as dangerous,” Xabi Alonso had warned beforehand.
Juventus, which hadn’t won since last month, posed Madrid issues at the start and once more near the end. Madrid dominated the ball, with a significant advantage, but Juventus threatened on the counter, especially with the French defender running and Vlahović combining, firing off a dozen attempts compared to the home side's 27.
Strong Opening for Away Side
They had started well, certainly. After just three minutes, they thought they were in front, Vlahović somewhat 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 dashed clear on the right flank. And soon after, the American midfielder's shot was deflected wide.
What followed, from Federico Gatti's drive, was a even better save. A quarter of an hour had passed. However, quickly the Italians' momentum had faded as well. Madrid took control. Largely it was all a bit functional, though, and the three best opportunities came to the French midfielder, who wouldn’t be the coach's preferred forward. Two were headed over, a third one took a deflection; another headed opportunity was missed by Militão.
Turkish Talent Impresses
The best moments were provided by the young Turk. Güler, whose football was the closest 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 finally emerged it was the closest Madrid got to scoring. Initially his attempt was stopped by the Juventus keeper, who would make eight saves. Next some lovely fast footwork saw him evade Andrea Cambiaso twice until he tumbled to the ground and laid off to Militão to blast over.
Late Tension
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 “inadvertent pass” had been remarkable, with the defender cutting out a pass inside his own penalty box and the ball deflecting from the instep of his boot right through the middle to beyond the center circle. Sprinting after it, ample room opening, the striker outpaced Militão, using his strength and advancing into the area where Courtois made the stop.
Then what tends to happen occurred, the save made good by the score that follows it. A burst from Vinícius Júnior created it, creating enough space amid four men to release a driven effort which hit the post. Positioned in that striker’s role was Bellingham. The breakthrough found, Madrid should have finished it, the Frenchman denied by Di Gregorio and the Uruguayan seeing his volley blocked by Gatti. Subsequently Di Gregorio made a brilliant double stop from Mbappé and Brahim Díaz.
It was not the only one: as the game was slipping away, the defender had to make a incredible last-ditch tackle as Madrid were opened up and at the risk of the substitute momentarily alone in the penalty box. Finally in the dying moments Courtois flew in to stop Thuram, his work complete. For Juve, there was no way back, Bellingham’s first of the campaign the final of the match.
“It’s a great feeling, 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 big team. To score a winner, here at home, it’s unbelievable. I felt comfortable, really good. To play well was crucial and to score the winning goal helps 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 general feeling was that it was worse. But I was a part of that, how we didn’t play as well 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 system, how we want to play…. You have to learn from it.”
