It may not have been a classic encounter, the chanting from the Madrid's home stadium was unmistakable. After a long wait, Jude Bellingham finally stood before the south end with his arms wide open, listening to the crowd's rendition of Hey Jude. Following a shoulder injury and uncertainty about his role, he netted his first goal of the campaign, eventually 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 Secure the Victory
The shot-stopper understood perfectly well, having to rescue a one-on-one from Dušan Vlahović and make another crucial stop from the French midfielder in the final minute. This result puts Madrid on nine points and the opposition team outside the qualifying spots. At the end of a game with plenty of attempts but little elegance, the Juventus manager may consider a promising opening, with those saves representing a missed chance around the 85-minute mark; their current situation though makes for worrying statistics.
“A side from Italy in trouble is twice as dangerous,” the Madrid coach had warned in advance.
The Turin-based club, which hadn’t won since September, did cause Madrid issues at the beginning and again near the conclusion. Madrid commanded the ball, 66%-34%, but Juventus were dangerous on the break, particularly with Pierre Kalulu running and Vlahović combining, managing a dozen attempts compared to the hosts' twenty-seven.
Promising Start for Visitors
They had started well, certainly. Within three minutes, they thought they were ahead, the forward somewhat unlucky to be called for holding the Brazilian defender. Shortly after, the Madrid defender 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 more impressive save. A quarter of an hour had gone. However, soon the Italians' momentum had faded too. Madrid assumed command. Mostly it was rather mechanical, though, and the top chances came to the French midfielder, who is not the coach's preferred forward. A couple were off target, a third took a deflection; an additional headed opportunity was missed by the center-back.
Guler Shines
The best moments came from Arda Güler. 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 far post for the Englishman.
Little was seen of the French superstar yet, but when he finally emerged it was the nearest Madrid got to scoring. Initially his attempt was denied by the Juventus keeper, who would produce several stops. Then some exquisite dribbling saw him evade Andrea Cambiaso twice until he went down to the turf and set up Militão to fire over.
Late Tension
Militão dived to halt Kalulu at the outset of the second period, and then came the regulation Courtois rescue when unexpectedly the attacker was away. The “inadvertent pass” had been quite something, with Lloyd Kelly intercepting a pass inside his own area and the sphere bouncing from the inside of his foot directly through the center to beyond the halfway line. Sprinting after it, huge space appearing, the striker raced Militão, holding him off and advancing into the area where Courtois made the stop.
Next what tends to happen happened, the save made good by the score that follows it. A burst from Vinícius Júnior set up it, creating enough space amid multiple defenders to release a driven effort which hit the post. Positioned in that forward position was Bellingham. With the deadlock broken, Madrid ought to have sealed the game, Mbappé denied by Di Gregorio and the Uruguayan seeing his volley deflected by Gatti. Subsequently the Juventus goalkeeper made a superb quick saves from Mbappé and the attacking midfielder.
It was not the only one: as the match was slipping away, the defender had to make a stunning sliding block as Madrid were exposed and at the risk of the substitute momentarily alone in the area. Then in the final seconds the Madrid keeper flew in to deny Thuram, his job done. For Juve, there was no way back, Bellingham’s first of the season the final of the encounter.
“It’s a great feeling, a long time now since I’ve found the net, a lot of time out and dreaming of that moment, back in the Champions League and against a big team. To get the decisive goal, here at home, it’s incredible. I was at ease, excellent. To perform was crucial and to score the winning goal helps the team greatly.”
Regarding his performance, he continued: “I didn’t think last year was a failure, with 15 goals, 14 assists, but I understand the perception 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 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 intend to play…. You have to learn from it.”
