It may not have been a match for the ages, the roar from the Santiago Bernabéu was familiar. After a long wait, Jude Bellingham finally stood before the home supporters with his arms wide open, basking in the crowd's singing of Hey Jude. After a lengthy layoff and questions about his position, he scored his opening strike of the season, eventually delivering a narrow win for Real Madrid over a Juventus side that put up a fight. “It was a tough battle,” stated Thibaut Courtois.
Key Saves Secure the Victory
Courtois knew perfectly well, having to save a clear chance from the Serbian striker and make another crucial stop from Khéphren Thuram in the final minute. The win leaves Madrid on nine points and the opposition team outside the qualifying spots. After a game with more shots than fluid football, the visiting coach may reflect on a decent start, with those opportunities representing a missed chance around the 85-minute mark; their current situation however presents concerning reading.
“An Italian team in trouble is doubly threatening,” the Madrid coach had remarked beforehand.
The Turin-based club, who hadn’t won since last month, posed Madrid problems at the start and once more near the conclusion. Madrid commanded the ball, with a significant advantage, but Juventus threatened on the break, especially with the French defender running and the striker linking up, firing off 12 shots compared to the hosts' twenty-seven.
Promising Start for Away Side
The visitors began brightly, certainly. After just three minutes, they believed they were in front, the forward somewhat unlucky to be penalized for holding Éder Militão. Three minutes later, Raúl Asencio had to slide in front of him when the wing-back dashed clear on the right. Then three minutes after that, Weston McKennie's effort was deflected wide.
What followed, from Federico Gatti's powerful strike, was a even better save. Fifteen minutes had gone. That said, soon the visitors' impetus had faded as well. Madrid took control. Largely it was all a bit functional, though, and the top chances fell to the French midfielder, who wouldn’t be Alonso’s striker of choice. Two were off target, a third one took a deflection; an additional chance with the head was wasted by the center-back.
Guler Shines
Most creative play came from Arda Güler. The Turk, whose play was the nearest thing there was to fluidity, was always involved. His neat stop and turn 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 came to scoring. Initially his shot was stopped by Michele Di Gregorio, who would produce several stops. Next some lovely fast footwork saw him evade Andrea Cambiaso repeatedly until he tumbled to the turf and laid off to Militão to blast over.
Second-Half Drama
Militão threw himself to halt Kalulu at the outset of the second half, and then came the regulation save from the keeper when unexpectedly the attacker was away. The “assist” had been quite something, with Lloyd Kelly intercepting a ball inside his own penalty box and the ball deflecting from the inside of his boot directly through the middle to beyond the halfway line. Racing after it, ample room opening, Vlahović raced his marker, using his strength and heading into the area where Courtois made the stop.
Next the usual pattern occurred, the save compensated for by the score that follows it. A burst from the Brazilian winger created it, working himself enough room amid multiple defenders to release a low, left-footed shot which hit the post. Positioned in that striker’s role was Bellingham. The breakthrough found, Madrid should have finished it, Mbappé denied by Di Gregorio and the Uruguayan seeing his volley deflected by Gatti. Subsequently the Juventus goalkeeper made a brilliant double stop from the forward 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 opened up and at the risk of Loïs Openda momentarily alone in the area. Finally in the dying moments the Madrid keeper dived to stop the midfielder, his job done. For the visitors, there was no way back, Bellingham’s first of the campaign the final of the match.
“I'm overjoyed, a while now since I’ve scored, a lot of time out and dreaming of that instant, returning in the elite competition and against a big team. To score a winner, in our stadium, it’s unbelievable. I felt comfortable, excellent. To perform was important and to net the match-winner helps the team a lot.”
Regarding his performance, he continued: “I didn’t think last year was a disaster, still fifteen strikes, 14 assists, but I know the general feeling was that it was worse. But I was a contributor to that, how we didn’t play as well last year, there were still positive spells but not the level I want to play at, not the level like the debut season. Now I’ve had my operation, a different coach, he’s got that system, how we want to play…. You have to take lessons.”
