It may not have been a classic encounter, the roar from the Madrid's home stadium was unmistakable. After a long wait, Jude Bellingham once again found himself before the south end with his arms outstretched, basking in the fans' rendition of Hey Jude. After a lengthy layoff and uncertainty about his role, he netted his opening strike of the season, ultimately 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
The shot-stopper knew perfectly well, having to rescue a one-on-one from Dušan Vlahović and produce another decisive save from Khéphren Thuram in the final minute. This result puts 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 Juventus manager may consider a decent start, with those saves representing a wasted moment around the closing stages; the team's reality though presents worrying statistics.
“A side from Italy in difficulty is twice as dangerous,” the Madrid coach had warned in advance.
Juventus, who hadn’t won since September, did cause Madrid issues at the beginning and once more near the end. Madrid dominated the ball, with a significant advantage, but Juventus were dangerous on the counter, especially with the French defender surging forward and Vlahović combining, managing a dozen attempts compared to the home side's twenty-seven.
Strong Opening for Away Side
The visitors began brightly, certainly. Within three minutes, they believed they were in front, the forward somewhat unfortunate to be called for pulling Éder Militão. Three minutes later, the Madrid defender had to slide ahead of Vlahović when the wing-back broke free on the right flank. Then soon after, Weston McKennie's effort was deflected past the post.
Next, from Federico Gatti's powerful strike, was a even better stop. A quarter of an hour had passed. That said, soon the Italians' momentum had dissipated too. Madrid assumed command. Mostly it was all a bit functional, however, and the three best opportunities fell to the French midfielder, who wouldn’t be the coach's preferred forward. A couple were headed over, a third deflected wide; an additional chance with the head was wasted by Militão.
Guler Shines
The best moments came from Arda Güler. The Turk, whose football was the closest there was to fluidity, was constantly in the action. 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 came to a goal. First his shot was stopped by Michele Di Gregorio, 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.
Late Tension
The Brazilian threw himself to stop Kalulu at the start of the second half, and then came the regulation save from the keeper when suddenly Vlahović was through. The “inadvertent pass” had been remarkable, with the defender cutting out a pass inside his own area and the sphere bouncing from the instep of his foot directly through the middle to beyond the halfway line. Racing after it, huge space appearing, Vlahović outpaced Militão, using his strength and advancing into the area where the keeper saved.
Then what tends to happen occurred, the stop made good by the score that comes after it. A flash from the Brazilian winger set up it, working himself enough space amid four men to unleash a low, left-footed shot which struck the upright. Positioned in that striker’s role was the goalscorer. With the deadlock broken, Madrid should have finished it, the Frenchman denied by Di Gregorio and the Uruguayan seeing his half-volley blocked by Gatti. Then the Juventus goalkeeper made a brilliant double stop from the forward 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 Loïs Openda momentarily alone in the area. Then in the dying moments the Madrid keeper dived to stop Thuram, his job done. For Juve, there was no way back, Bellingham’s first of the campaign the final of the match.
“I'm overjoyed, a long time now since I’ve scored, a lot of time out and dreaming of that instant, back in the elite competition and against a big team. To get the decisive goal, in our stadium, it’s unbelievable. I felt comfortable, excellent. To perform was crucial and to net the match-winner benefits the team greatly.”
As for his form, he added: “I didn’t think last year was a failure, with 15 goals, 14 assists, but I understand the perception was that it was poorer. But I was a part of that, how we underperformed last year, there were still good moments but not the level I want to play at, not the level 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.”
