It may not have been a match for the ages, the chanting from the Madrid's home stadium was unmistakable. After a long wait, Jude Bellingham once again stood before the home supporters with his arms outstretched, listening to the fans' rendition of his anthem. After a lengthy layoff and uncertainty about his role, he scored his first goal of the campaign, ultimately securing a 1-0 victory for Real Madrid over a Juventus side that made them work hard. “It was a tough battle,” stated Thibaut Courtois.
Decisive Stops Ensure the Victory
The shot-stopper understood perfectly well, having to rescue a one-on-one from Dušan Vlahović and make another decisive save from Khéphren Thuram in the final minute. The win leaves Madrid on nine points and the opposition team outside the qualifying spots. At the end of a game with more shots than fluid football, the Juventus manager may reflect on a decent start, with those opportunities representing a wasted moment around the 85-minute mark; their current situation however presents worrying statistics.
“A side from Italy in difficulty is twice as dangerous,” Xabi Alonso had warned in advance.
Juventus, who hadn’t won since September, posed Madrid problems at the beginning and once more near the conclusion. Madrid dominated possession, 66%-34%, but Juventus were dangerous on the counter, especially with the French defender surging forward and Vlahović linking up, firing off 12 shots compared to the home side's twenty-seven.
Strong Opening for Away Side
They had started well, without a doubt. Within three minutes, they believed they were ahead, the forward a little unlucky to be called for holding Éder Militão. Shortly after, Raúl Asencio had to intervene ahead of him when Kalulu dashed clear on the right flank. Then three minutes after that, the American midfielder's shot was deflected wide.
What followed, from Federico Gatti's drive, was a more impressive save. Fifteen minutes had passed. However, soon the visitors' impetus had faded too. Madrid took control. Mostly it was all a bit functional, though, and the top chances came to Aurélien Tchouaméni, who wouldn’t be the coach's preferred forward. A couple were headed over, a third deflected wide; another headed opportunity was wasted by Militão.
Guler Shines
Most creative play came from the young Turk. Güler, whose football was the nearest thing there was to fluidity, was constantly in the action. His clever control and spin saw him deliver to the back post for Bellingham.
There was not much sign of the French superstar yet, but when he did appear it was the nearest Madrid got to a goal. Initially his attempt was stopped by Michele Di Gregorio, who would produce eight saves. Next some lovely fast footwork saw him turn Andrea Cambiaso repeatedly until he tumbled to the ground and set up his teammate to fire over.
Late Tension
The Brazilian dived to halt Kalulu at the outset of the second half, and then came the customary Courtois rescue when suddenly Vlahović was through. The “inadvertent pass” had been remarkable, with the defender cutting out a ball inside his own area and the ball deflecting from the instep of his foot directly through the middle to beyond the center circle. Racing after it, huge space opening, the striker outpaced Militão, holding him off and heading into the box where Courtois made the stop.
Next what tends to happen happened, the save compensated for by the score that follows it. A burst from the Brazilian winger set up it, creating enough space amid multiple defenders to release a driven effort which struck the upright. Positioned in that striker’s role was Bellingham. The breakthrough found, Madrid ought to have sealed the game, Mbappé stopped by the keeper and Fede Valverde seeing his volley blocked by Gatti. Subsequently the Juventus goalkeeper made a superb quick saves from Mbappé and the attacking midfielder.
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 Loïs Openda unmarked in the penalty box. 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 season the final of the encounter.
“It’s a great feeling, a long time now since I’ve scored, a lot of time out and dreaming of that instant, back in the elite competition and against a big team. To get the decisive goal, here at home, it’s unbelievable. I was at ease, really good. To perform was important and to score the winning goal helps the team a lot.”
Regarding his form, he continued: “I didn’t think last year was a failure, with fifteen strikes, fourteen setups, but I understand the perception was that it was worse. But I was a contributor to that, how we didn’t play as well last year, there were nonetheless positive spells but not the standard 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 shape, how we want to play…. You have to learn from it.”
