It may not have been a match for the ages, the chanting from the Santiago Bernabéu was familiar. Having been absent for some time, Jude Bellingham finally stood before the south end with his arms outstretched, basking in the crowd's rendition of Hey Jude. After a shoulder injury and questions about his position, he scored his first goal of the season, eventually securing a narrow win for Real Madrid over a Italian opponent that made them work hard. “We had to sweat for it,” commented the Belgian goalkeeper.
Key Saves Secure the Victory
The shot-stopper knew perfectly well, having to rescue a clear chance from the Serbian striker and produce another decisive save from the French midfielder in the dying moments. The win puts Madrid on a strong tally and Igor Tudor’s team outside the qualifying spots. After a match with more shots than fluid football, the Juventus manager may consider a promising opening, with those saves representing a missed chance around the closing stages; the team's reality though makes for concerning reading.
“A side from Italy in trouble is twice as dangerous,” Xabi Alonso had remarked beforehand.
Juventus, which hadn’t won since September, posed Madrid problems at the beginning and once more near the end. Madrid dominated possession, 66%-34%, but Juventus threatened on the break, particularly with the French defender running and Vlahović linking up, managing a dozen attempts compared to the hosts' 27.
Promising Start for Visitors
The visitors began brightly, certainly. Within three minutes, they thought they were ahead, Vlahović somewhat unfortunate to be penalized for pulling Éder Militão. Three minutes later, Raúl Asencio had to slide ahead of Vlahović when the wing-back dashed clear on the right. Then three minutes after that, the American midfielder's shot was deflected past the post.
Next, from Federico Gatti's powerful strike, was a even better save. Fifteen minutes had passed. However, quickly the Italians' momentum had faded as well. Madrid took control. Mostly it was rather mechanical, though, and the top chances fell to Aurélien Tchouaméni, who wouldn’t be the coach's preferred forward. A couple were headed over, a third deflected wide; an additional headed opportunity was missed by Militão.
Guler Shines
Most creative play came from Arda Güler. Güler, whose play was the nearest thing there was to fluidity, was constantly in the action. His clever control and spin saw him clip to the far post for Bellingham.
Little was seen of Kylian Mbappé early on, but when he did appear it was the closest Madrid came to scoring. Initially his shot was denied 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 blast over.
Second-Half Drama
The Brazilian dived to halt the runner at the start of the second period, and then came the regulation save from the keeper when unexpectedly Vlahović was through. The “assist” had been remarkable, with Lloyd Kelly cutting out a ball inside his own penalty box and the sphere deflecting from the inside of his boot directly through the middle to beyond the center circle. Racing after it, ample room appearing, Vlahović raced his marker, holding him off and advancing into the box where Courtois saved.
Then what tends to happen happened, the stop made good by the score that follows it. A burst from Vinícius Júnior set up it, creating enough space amid four men to release a low, left-footed shot which hit the post. Positioned in that striker’s role was the goalscorer. The breakthrough found, Madrid should have finished it, the Frenchman denied by the keeper and the Uruguayan seeing his volley blocked by Gatti. Then Di Gregorio made a brilliant double stop from the forward and Brahim Díaz.
There were more scares: as the match was drawing to a close, Raúl Asencio had to make a incredible last-ditch tackle as Madrid were exposed and at the risk of Loïs Openda momentarily alone in the area. Finally 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 final of the encounter.
“It’s a great feeling, a while now since I’ve found the net, a period out and dreaming of that instant, back in the elite competition and against a major opponent. To get the decisive goal, in our stadium, it’s unbelievable. I was at ease, excellent. To play well was important and to score the winning goal benefits the team a lot.”
Regarding his form, he added: “I didn’t think last year was a failure, still fifteen strikes, 14 assists, but I know the perception was that it was worse. But I was a part of that, how we underperformed last year, there were still positive spells but not the standard I aim to play at, not the level like the first year. Now I’ve had my operation, a different coach, he’s got that system, how we intend to play…. You have to take lessons.”
