It may not have been a match for the ages, the chanting from the Madrid's home stadium was familiar. After a long wait, Jude Bellingham finally stood before the home supporters with his arms wide open, listening to the fans' singing of Hey Jude. Following a shoulder injury and uncertainty about his position, he scored his opening strike of the season, eventually delivering a narrow win for Real Madrid over a Italian opponent that put up a fight. “It was a tough battle,” commented the Belgian goalkeeper.
Key Saves Ensure the Win
Courtois understood perfectly well, having to save a one-on-one from Dušan Vlahović and produce another crucial save from Khéphren Thuram in the dying moments. The win leaves Madrid on a strong tally and the opposition team below the cut. After a game with more shots than fluid football, the visiting coach may consider a promising opening, with those saves representing a missed chance around the closing stages; the team's reality however presents worrying statistics.
“A side from Italy in trouble is twice as dangerous,” Xabi Alonso had warned beforehand.
Juventus, which were without a victory since September, posed Madrid issues at the beginning and again near the conclusion. Madrid commanded possession, 66%-34%, but Juventus were dangerous on the break, particularly with Pierre Kalulu running and the striker combining, firing off a dozen attempts compared to the hosts' 27.
Strong Opening for Visitors
They had started well, without a doubt. After just three minutes, they believed they were ahead, the forward somewhat unlucky to be penalized for holding the Brazilian defender. Three minutes later, the Madrid defender 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 pushed past the post.
Next, from the defender's drive, was a more impressive save. Fifteen minutes had passed. However, soon the Italians' momentum had dissipated as well. Madrid took control. Mostly it was rather mechanical, 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 took a deflection; another chance with the head was wasted by the center-back.
Guler Shines
The best moments were provided by the young Turk. Güler, whose football was the nearest thing there was to fluidity, was always involved. His clever control and spin saw him clip to the back post for the Englishman.
There was not much sign of the French superstar early on, but when he did appear it was the closest Madrid came to scoring. First his shot was stopped by Michele Di Gregorio, who would produce 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 fire over.
Late Tension
The Brazilian threw himself to stop Kalulu at the outset of the second period, and then came the regulation save from the keeper when unexpectedly Vlahović was away. The “inadvertent pass” had been quite something, with Lloyd Kelly intercepting a ball inside his own penalty box and the sphere deflecting from the inside of his boot right through the middle to beyond the halfway line. Sprinting after it, ample room opening, Vlahović outpaced his marker, using his strength and advancing into the box where the keeper saved.
Next the usual pattern occurred, the save made good by the score that comes after it. A burst from the Brazilian winger created it, creating enough room amid four men to release a low, left-footed shot which struck the post. Positioned in that forward position was Bellingham. With the deadlock broken, Madrid should have finished it, the Frenchman denied by the keeper and Fede Valverde seeing his half-volley blocked by the defender. Then the Juventus goalkeeper made a brilliant double stop 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 opened up and at the mercy of the substitute momentarily alone in the area. Then in the final seconds Courtois dived to deny the midfielder, his work complete. For Juve, there was no way back, the opening goal of the campaign the final of the match.
“I'm overjoyed, a long time now since I’ve found the net, a period out and dreaming of that moment, back in the Champions League and against a big team. To score a winner, here at home, it’s unbelievable. I was at ease, excellent. To play well was important and to net the match-winner helps the team greatly.”
As for his form, he added: “It wasn't that last year was a failure, with fifteen strikes, fourteen setups, but I understand the general feeling was that it was poorer. But I was a contributor to that, how we underperformed last year, there were nonetheless positive spells but not the level I want to play at, not the level like the first year. 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.”
