It may not have been a classic encounter, the roar from the Santiago Bernabéu was unmistakable. After a long wait, Jude Bellingham once again found himself before the south end with his arms outstretched, basking in the crowd's rendition of Hey Jude. After a lengthy layoff and questions about his position, he netted his opening strike of the season, ultimately delivering a 1-0 victory for Real Madrid over a Juventus side that made them work hard. “It was a tough battle,” stated the Belgian goalkeeper.
Key Saves Secure the Win
The shot-stopper knew better than anyone, having to save a one-on-one from the Serbian striker and make another decisive save from Khéphren Thuram in the dying moments. The win puts Madrid on a strong tally and Igor Tudor’s team outside the qualifying spots. At the end of a match with more shots than fluid football, the Juventus manager may reflect on a decent start, with those opportunities representing a missed chance around the 85-minute mark; the team's reality however makes for concerning reading.
“A side from Italy in difficulty is twice as dangerous,” the Madrid coach had warned beforehand.
Juventus, which hadn’t won since September, did cause Madrid problems at the beginning and once more near the end. Madrid commanded possession, with a significant advantage, but Juventus threatened on the break, particularly with the French defender surging forward and the striker combining, managing 12 shots compared to the hosts' twenty-seven.
Strong Opening for Visitors
They had started well, certainly. After just three minutes, they thought they were in front, the forward somewhat unfortunate to be penalized for holding the Brazilian defender. Shortly after, the Madrid defender had to intervene ahead of him when the wing-back dashed clear on the right. And three minutes after that, Weston McKennie's effort was pushed wide.
What followed, from the defender's powerful strike, was a even better stop. A quarter of an hour had passed. However, quickly the Italians' momentum had faded too. Madrid assumed command. Largely it was all a bit functional, however, and the top chances came to Aurélien Tchouaméni, who wouldn’t be the coach's preferred forward. Two were headed over, a third took a deflection; an additional chance with the head was wasted by Militão.
Guler Shines
The best moments were provided by the young Turk. Güler, whose play was the nearest thing there was to smooth attacking, was always involved. His neat stop and turn saw him clip to the back post for Bellingham.
There was not much sign of the French superstar yet, but when he finally emerged it was the nearest Madrid came to scoring. Initially his shot was stopped by Michele Di Gregorio, who would make eight saves. Then some lovely fast footwork saw him turn Andrea Cambiaso twice until he went down to the ground and set up his teammate to blast over.
Late Tension
The Brazilian threw himself to halt Kalulu at the start of the second period, and then came the customary save from the keeper when suddenly Vlahović was away. The “inadvertent pass” had been remarkable, with Lloyd Kelly cutting out a pass inside his own area and the sphere bouncing from the instep of his foot right through the middle to past the halfway line. Racing after it, huge space appearing, the striker raced Militão, using his strength and heading into the box where Courtois made the stop.
Then the usual pattern occurred, the save made good by the goal that comes after it. A flash from Vinícius Júnior set up it, creating enough space amid multiple defenders to release a driven effort which hit the upright. Lurking in that forward position was the goalscorer. The breakthrough found, Madrid ought to have sealed the game, Mbappé denied by Di Gregorio and Fede Valverde seeing his volley deflected by Gatti. Then Di Gregorio made a brilliant double stop from the forward and Brahim Díaz.
There were more scares: as the match was drawing to a close, the defender had to make a stunning sliding block as Madrid were opened up and at the risk of Loïs Openda unmarked in the penalty box. Finally in the dying moments the Madrid keeper dived to deny Thuram, his work done. For the visitors, there was no route to a comeback, the opening goal of the campaign the final of the match.
“It’s a great feeling, a while now since I’ve scored, a lot of time 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 unbelievable. I was at ease, excellent. To play well was important and to score the winning goal helps the team greatly.”
As for his form, he added: “It wasn't that last year was a failure, still 15 goals, 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 nonetheless good moments but not the level 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 system, how we intend to play…. You have to take lessons.”
