It may not have been a classic encounter, the roar from the Santiago Bernabéu was familiar. After a long wait, Jude Bellingham once again stood before the south end with his arms wide open, basking in the crowd's singing of his anthem. Following a shoulder injury and uncertainty about his role, he netted his first goal of the campaign, eventually delivering a narrow win for Real Madrid over a Italian opponent that put up a fight. “It was a tough battle,” stated the Belgian goalkeeper.
Key Saves Ensure the Win
Courtois knew perfectly well, having to save a clear chance from Dušan Vlahović and make another decisive save from the French midfielder in the final minute. The win puts Madrid on nine points and Igor Tudor’s 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; the team's reality however presents concerning reading.
“A side from Italy in trouble is twice as dangerous,” Xabi Alonso had remarked beforehand.
Juventus, which were without a victory since last month, posed Madrid issues at the beginning and again near the conclusion. Madrid commanded the ball, with a significant advantage, but Juventus threatened on the counter, especially with Pierre Kalulu running and the striker linking up, managing a dozen attempts compared to the home side's 27.
Strong Opening for Away Side
They had started well, certainly. Within three minutes, they thought they were in front, the forward somewhat unlucky to be called for holding Éder Militão. Three minutes later, Raúl Asencio had to intervene ahead of him when the wing-back dashed clear on the right. Then soon after, Weston McKennie's effort was deflected past the post.
What followed, from Federico Gatti's powerful strike, was a more impressive stop. Fifteen minutes had passed. That said, quickly the Italians' momentum had dissipated as well. Madrid assumed command. Mostly it was rather mechanical, however, and the three best opportunities fell to the French midfielder, who wouldn’t be Alonso’s striker of choice. A couple were headed over, a third deflected wide; an additional headed opportunity was missed by Militão.
Guler Shines
The best moments 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 deliver 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 got to a goal. First his attempt was denied by Michele Di Gregorio, who would produce several stops. Next some lovely fast footwork saw him turn the full-back repeatedly until he went down to the turf and set up Militão to fire over.
Late Tension
The Brazilian threw himself to halt Kalulu at the outset of the second period, and then came the customary save from the keeper when unexpectedly the attacker was through. The “inadvertent pass” had been remarkable, with the defender cutting out a ball inside his own area and the sphere bouncing from the inside of his boot directly through the center to past the halfway line. Sprinting after it, huge space opening, Vlahović raced Militão, using his strength and advancing into the box where Courtois made the stop.
Then what tends to happen happened, the save made good by the goal that follows it. A flash from Vinícius Júnior set up it, working himself enough room amid multiple defenders to release a driven effort which struck the post. Lurking in that striker’s role was the goalscorer. The breakthrough found, Madrid should have finished it, Mbappé denied by the keeper and Fede Valverde seeing his volley deflected by the defender. Then the Juventus goalkeeper made a brilliant double stop from Mbappé and Brahim Díaz.
There were more scares: as the game was slipping away, the defender had to make a incredible last-ditch tackle as Madrid were exposed and at the mercy of the substitute unmarked in the area. Then in the final seconds Courtois dived to stop the midfielder, his job done. For the visitors, there was no way back, Bellingham’s first of the season the last of the match.
“It’s a great feeling, a long time now since I’ve found the net, a lot of time out and thinking of that moment, back in the elite competition and against a big team. To score a winner, here at home, it’s unbelievable. I felt comfortable, excellent. To perform was crucial and to score the winning goal helps the team greatly.”
As for his performance, he continued: “It wasn't that last year was a failure, with 15 goals, fourteen setups, but I understand the general feeling was that it was worse. But I was a part of that, how we didn’t play as well last year, there were still positive spells but not the standard I aim to play at, not the caliber like the debut season. Now I’ve had my operation, a different coach, he’s got that shape, how we want to play…. You have to take lessons.”
