It may not have been a classic encounter, the roar from the Madrid's home stadium was unmistakable. After a long wait, Jude Bellingham finally found himself before the home supporters with his arms wide open, listening to the fans' singing of his anthem. Following a lengthy layoff and uncertainty about his role, he netted his first goal of the campaign, ultimately delivering 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
Courtois knew perfectly well, having to save a clear chance from the Serbian striker and produce another crucial save from Khéphren Thuram in the final minute. This result leaves Madrid on a strong tally and Igor Tudor’s team below the cut. After a match with plenty of attempts but little elegance, the Juventus manager may consider a decent start, with those saves representing a missed chance around the 85-minute mark; their current situation however presents concerning reading.
“A side from Italy in difficulty is twice as dangerous,” Xabi Alonso had remarked in advance.
Juventus, who hadn’t won since September, did cause Madrid issues at the start and again near the conclusion. Madrid commanded possession, 66%-34%, but Juventus were dangerous on the counter, especially with Pierre Kalulu surging forward and the striker combining, firing off 12 shots compared to the home side's twenty-seven.
Promising Start for Away Side
The visitors began brightly, certainly. Within three minutes, they thought they were ahead, the forward somewhat unfortunate to be called for holding the Brazilian defender. Shortly after, Raúl Asencio had to intervene in front of Vlahović when the wing-back broke free on the right. Then soon after, the American midfielder's shot was pushed past the post.
What followed, from Federico Gatti's powerful strike, was a more impressive save. A quarter of an hour had gone. That said, quickly the Italians' momentum had dissipated too. Madrid assumed command. Largely it was rather mechanical, though, and the three best opportunities fell to Aurélien Tchouaméni, who wouldn’t be Alonso’s striker of choice. Two were headed over, a third took a deflection; another headed opportunity was wasted by Militão.
Guler Shines
Most creative play were provided by the young Turk. The Turk, whose football was the closest there was to smooth attacking, was always involved. His neat stop and turn saw him clip to the far post for the Englishman.
Little was seen of Kylian Mbappé yet, but when he finally emerged it was the closest Madrid came to scoring. First his shot was denied by Michele Di Gregorio, who would produce several stops. Then some lovely fast footwork saw him evade Andrea Cambiaso repeatedly until he tumbled to the turf and laid off to his teammate to fire over.
Second-Half Drama
The Brazilian dived to halt the runner at the start of the second half, and then came the regulation save from the keeper when unexpectedly Vlahović was through. The “assist” had been quite something, with Lloyd Kelly cutting out a ball inside his own area and the sphere bouncing from the inside of his boot directly through the middle to past the halfway line. Racing after it, ample room opening, Vlahović outpaced Militão, holding him off and advancing into the box where Courtois made the stop.
Then the usual pattern happened, the stop made good by the score that comes after it. A burst from the Brazilian winger created it, creating enough room amid four men to unleash a driven effort which hit the upright. Lurking in that striker’s role was the goalscorer. The breakthrough found, Madrid ought to have sealed the game, the Frenchman denied by Di Gregorio and the Uruguayan seeing his half-volley deflected by Gatti. Then the Juventus goalkeeper made a brilliant double stop from the forward and Brahim Díaz.
There were more scares: as the game was drawing to a close, the defender had to make a stunning sliding block as Madrid were opened up and at the risk of the substitute momentarily alone in the area. Finally in the final seconds the Madrid keeper dived to stop Thuram, his job complete. For the visitors, there was no route to a comeback, the opening goal of the season the last of the encounter.
“It’s a great feeling, a while now since I’ve found the net, a lot of time out and thinking of that moment, returning in the elite competition and against a major opponent. To get the decisive goal, in our stadium, it’s unbelievable. I felt comfortable, really good. To play well was important and to net the match-winner benefits the team a lot.”
Regarding his performance, he continued: “It wasn't that last year was a failure, with fifteen strikes, 14 assists, but I know the perception was that it was poorer. But I was a part of that, how we underperformed last year, there were still positive spells but not the level I want to play at, not the caliber like the debut season. Now I’ve had my shoulder surgery, a new manager, he’s got that shape, how we intend to play…. You have to take lessons.”
