It may not have been a match for the ages, the roar from the Madrid's home stadium was unmistakable. Having been absent for some time, Jude Bellingham once again stood before the home supporters with his arms outstretched, basking in the crowd's rendition of Hey Jude. Following a lengthy layoff and uncertainty about his role, he netted his first goal of the campaign, eventually delivering 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.
Decisive Stops Ensure the Win
Courtois knew better than anyone, having to rescue a clear chance from the Serbian striker and make another crucial stop from Khéphren Thuram in the dying moments. The win puts Madrid on nine points and Igor Tudor’s team below the cut. After a game with plenty of attempts but little elegance, the Juventus manager may reflect on a promising opening, with those saves representing a wasted moment around the 85-minute mark; their current situation however makes for worrying statistics.
“A side from Italy in difficulty is twice as dangerous,” the Madrid coach had remarked beforehand.
Juventus, which were without a victory since September, posed Madrid issues at the start and once more near the end. Madrid commanded the ball, with a significant advantage, but Juventus were dangerous on the counter, especially with the French defender surging forward and Vlahović linking up, firing off a dozen attempts compared to the home side's 27.
Strong Opening for Away Side
The visitors began brightly, certainly. Within three minutes, they believed they were ahead, the forward a little unfortunate to be penalized for holding Éder Militão. Shortly after, Raúl Asencio had to slide ahead of him when Kalulu dashed clear on the right flank. Then soon after, the American midfielder's effort was deflected wide.
Next, from Federico Gatti's powerful strike, was a even better stop. A quarter of an hour had gone. That said, quickly the Italians' momentum had faded too. Madrid assumed command. Largely it was rather mechanical, however, and the top chances fell to Aurélien Tchouaméni, who wouldn’t be Alonso’s striker of choice. Two were headed over, a third one deflected wide; another chance with the head was wasted by the center-back.
Guler Shines
Most creative play were provided by the young Turk. The Turk, whose football was the closest there was to fluidity, was always involved. His clever control and spin saw him deliver to the back post for the Englishman.
Little was seen of Kylian Mbappé early on, but when he finally emerged it was the closest Madrid got to scoring. Initially his attempt was denied by the Juventus keeper, who would make several stops. Next some exquisite dribbling saw him turn Andrea Cambiaso twice until he tumbled to the turf and laid off to his teammate to fire over.
Second-Half Drama
Militão dived to stop the runner at the outset of the second half, and then came the customary Courtois rescue when unexpectedly Vlahović was through. The “inadvertent pass” had been remarkable, with the defender cutting out a pass inside his own penalty box and the ball deflecting from the inside of his boot right through the center to beyond the halfway line. Sprinting after it, ample room opening, the striker raced his marker, using his strength and advancing into the area where Courtois saved.
Then the usual pattern happened, the save made good by the score that follows it. A burst from the Brazilian winger set up it, creating enough space amid multiple defenders to release a low, left-footed shot which hit the upright. Lurking in that forward position was the goalscorer. The breakthrough found, Madrid should have finished it, Mbappé denied by Di Gregorio and Fede Valverde seeing his volley deflected by the defender. Subsequently Di Gregorio made a brilliant double stop from Mbappé and the attacking midfielder.
There were more scares: as the match was slipping away, Raúl Asencio had to make a stunning sliding block as Madrid were exposed and at the mercy of the substitute unmarked in the penalty box. Then in the final seconds Courtois dived to stop the midfielder, his work done. For the visitors, there was no way back, the opening goal of the season the last of the match.
“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 big team. To score a winner, here at home, it’s incredible. I was at ease, really good. To play well was crucial and to net the match-winner helps the team a lot.”
As for his performance, he continued: “I didn’t think last year was a disaster, with 15 goals, 14 assists, but I understand the general feeling was that it was worse. But I was a contributor to that, how we didn’t play as well last year, there were still positive spells but not the level I aim to play at, not the level like the debut season. Now I’ve had my shoulder surgery, a different coach, he’s got that shape, how we intend to play…. You have to take lessons.”
