It may not have been a classic encounter, the chanting from the Madrid's home stadium was familiar. Having been absent for some time, Jude Bellingham once again found himself before the home supporters with his arms wide open, basking in the crowd's rendition of his anthem. Following a lengthy layoff and questions about his role, he scored his first goal of the season, ultimately securing a narrow win for Real Madrid over a Juventus side that made them work hard. “We had to sweat for it,” commented the Belgian goalkeeper.
Key Saves Ensure the Win
Courtois understood perfectly well, having to save a one-on-one from Dušan Vlahović and make another decisive stop from Khéphren Thuram in the final minute. The win 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 visiting coach may consider a decent start, with those saves representing a missed chance around the 85-minute mark; the team's reality though makes for concerning reading.
“A side from Italy in trouble is doubly threatening,” the Madrid coach had remarked beforehand.
The Turin-based club, which hadn’t won since September, did cause Madrid problems at the beginning and once more near the end. Madrid commanded the ball, with a significant advantage, but Juventus threatened on the counter, especially with Pierre Kalulu surging forward and the striker combining, managing 12 shots compared to the hosts' twenty-seven.
Strong Opening for Away Side
They had started well, certainly. After just three minutes, they believed they were ahead, the forward somewhat unlucky to be called for pulling the Brazilian defender. Shortly after, the Madrid defender had to intervene in front of Vlahović when Kalulu broke free on the right. And soon after, the American midfielder's effort was deflected wide.
What followed, from Federico Gatti's powerful strike, was a even better save. Fifteen minutes had passed. However, quickly the Italians' momentum had faded too. Madrid took control. Mostly it was rather mechanical, though, and the three best opportunities fell to the French midfielder, who is not 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.
Turkish Talent Impresses
Most creative play came from Arda Güler. 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 far post for Bellingham.
Little was seen of Kylian Mbappé yet, but when he finally emerged it was the closest Madrid got to scoring. First his shot was denied by the Juventus keeper, who would produce several stops. Then some exquisite dribbling saw him turn the full-back repeatedly until he went down to the turf and set up his teammate to fire over.
Second-Half Drama
The Brazilian dived to halt Kalulu at the start of the second half, and then came the customary save from the keeper when unexpectedly the attacker was away. The “inadvertent pass” had been quite something, with the defender cutting out a ball inside his own penalty box and the sphere bouncing from the instep of his foot right through the center to beyond the halfway line. Racing after it, huge space appearing, the striker raced his marker, holding him off and advancing into the area where Courtois made the stop.
Then what tends to happen occurred, the save compensated for by the goal that comes after it. A flash from Vinícius Júnior created it, creating enough room amid four men to release a driven effort which struck the upright. Lurking in that forward position was the goalscorer. With the deadlock broken, Madrid should have finished it, the Frenchman denied by the keeper and the Uruguayan seeing his volley blocked by the defender. Subsequently Di Gregorio made a brilliant double stop from the forward and Brahim Díaz.
It was not the only one: as the game was slipping away, Raúl Asencio had to make a stunning sliding block as Madrid were opened up and at the risk of Loïs Openda unmarked in the penalty box. Then in the dying moments Courtois flew in to deny the midfielder, his job complete. For Juve, there was no way back, the opening goal of the campaign the final of the encounter.
“I'm overjoyed, a while now since I’ve found the net, a lot of time out and dreaming of that moment, back in the elite competition and against a major opponent. To get the decisive goal, here at home, it’s unbelievable. I felt comfortable, really good. To play well was crucial and to net the match-winner benefits the team greatly.”
Regarding his performance, he added: “It wasn't that last year was a disaster, still 15 goals, fourteen setups, but I understand the general feeling was that it was poorer. But I was a part of that, how we didn’t play as well last year, there were still good moments but not the standard I aim to play at, not the caliber like the debut season. Now I’ve had my shoulder surgery, a different coach, he’s got that system, how we intend to play…. You have to take lessons.”
