It may not have been a classic encounter, the roar from the Santiago Bernabéu was familiar. After a long wait, Jude Bellingham finally found himself before the south end with his arms wide open, basking in the fans' singing of Hey Jude. After a shoulder injury and uncertainty about his role, he netted his opening strike of the season, eventually securing a narrow win for Real Madrid over a Juventus side that put up a fight. “We had to sweat for it,” stated the Belgian goalkeeper.
Key Saves Ensure the Victory
Courtois knew better than anyone, having to rescue a one-on-one from the Serbian striker and make another decisive save from the French midfielder in the dying moments. The win leaves Madrid on a strong tally and the opposition team outside the qualifying spots. At the end of a game with plenty of attempts but little elegance, the visiting coach may consider a decent start, with those opportunities representing a missed chance around the closing stages; the team's reality though makes for concerning reading.
“An Italian team in trouble is doubly threatening,” Xabi Alonso had remarked in advance.
Juventus, which hadn’t won since last month, did cause Madrid problems at the beginning and again near the conclusion. Madrid commanded the ball, with a significant advantage, but Juventus were dangerous on the break, particularly with Pierre Kalulu running and Vlahović linking up, managing 12 shots compared to the home side's 27.
Promising Start for Away Side
They had started well, certainly. Within three minutes, they believed they were in front, Vlahović somewhat unlucky to be called for holding Éder Militão. Three minutes later, the Madrid defender had to slide in front of him when the wing-back broke free on the right flank. Then soon after, the American midfielder's shot was deflected wide.
What followed, from Federico Gatti's powerful strike, was a even better save. A quarter of an hour had gone. That said, quickly the visitors' impetus had dissipated as well. Madrid assumed command. Largely it was rather mechanical, though, and the three best opportunities fell to Aurélien Tchouaméni, who is not the coach's preferred forward. Two were off target, a third one took a deflection; an additional headed opportunity was missed by the center-back.
Turkish Talent Impresses
The best moments were provided by the young Turk. Güler, whose play was the closest 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 Kylian Mbappé early on, but when he did appear it was the nearest Madrid came to a goal. Initially his attempt was stopped by Michele Di Gregorio, who would produce several stops. Next some exquisite dribbling saw him turn Andrea Cambiaso twice until he tumbled to the ground and laid off to his teammate to fire over.
Second-Half Drama
Militão threw himself to halt the runner at the start of the second period, and then came the regulation Courtois rescue when unexpectedly the attacker was away. The “inadvertent pass” had been remarkable, with the defender intercepting a pass inside his own penalty box and the ball bouncing from the instep of his foot directly through the center to past the halfway line. Sprinting after it, huge space appearing, Vlahović raced Militão, holding him off and advancing into the area where Courtois made the stop.
Next what tends to happen happened, the save compensated for by the goal that comes after it. A burst from the Brazilian winger set up it, creating enough space amid four men to release a driven effort which struck the upright. Lurking in that striker’s role was the goalscorer. The breakthrough found, Madrid ought to have sealed the game, the Frenchman stopped by Di Gregorio and the Uruguayan seeing his volley blocked by Gatti. Then Di Gregorio made a superb quick saves from the forward and Brahim Díaz.
There were more scares: as the game was slipping away, the defender had to make a stunning sliding block as Madrid were opened up and at the risk of the substitute unmarked in the penalty box. Finally in the dying moments Courtois flew in to deny the midfielder, his job complete. For the visitors, 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 elite competition and against a major opponent. To score a winner, here at home, it’s unbelievable. I felt comfortable, really good. To perform was important and to net the match-winner benefits the team greatly.”
As for his performance, he added: “I didn’t think 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 standard I want to play at, not the caliber 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 take lessons.”
