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It may not have been a match for the ages, the roar from the Santiago Bernabéu was unmistakable. After a long wait, Jude Bellingham once again stood before the south end with his arms outstretched, listening to the fans' singing of his anthem. After a lengthy layoff and uncertainty about his position, he netted his opening strike of the season, eventually delivering a narrow win for Real Madrid over a Italian opponent that made them work hard. “We had to sweat for it,” commented Thibaut Courtois.

Decisive Stops Ensure the Win

The shot-stopper knew perfectly well, having to save a one-on-one from the Serbian striker and produce another decisive save from the French midfielder in the dying moments. The win leaves Madrid on a strong tally and Igor Tudor’s team below the cut. After a game with more shots than fluid football, the Juventus manager may reflect on a promising opening, with those saves representing a wasted moment around the 85-minute mark; the team's reality though presents concerning reading.

“An Italian team in trouble is doubly threatening,” Xabi Alonso had remarked beforehand.

The Turin-based club, who hadn’t won since last month, did cause Madrid problems at the beginning and again near the conclusion. Madrid commanded the ball, 66%-34%, but Juventus were dangerous on the counter, especially with Pierre Kalulu surging forward and Vlahović combining, firing off a dozen attempts compared to the home side's 27.

Strong Opening for Visitors

They had started well, without a doubt. Within three minutes, they believed they were in front, Vlahović a little unfortunate to be called for pulling Éder Militão. Three minutes later, the Madrid defender had to slide ahead of him when the wing-back dashed clear on the right flank. Then three minutes after that, the American midfielder's effort was deflected wide.

What followed, from the defender's powerful strike, was a more impressive stop. Fifteen minutes had passed. However, soon the visitors' impetus had dissipated too. Madrid took control. Mostly it was rather mechanical, however, and the three best opportunities came to the French midfielder, who wouldn’t be Alonso’s striker of choice. Two were headed over, a third deflected wide; another headed opportunity was wasted by Militão.

Guler Shines

The best moments were provided by Arda Güler. The Turk, whose play was the closest there was to fluidity, was always involved. His clever control and spin saw him clip to the far post for Bellingham.

There was not much sign of Kylian Mbappé early on, but when he did appear it was the nearest Madrid came to scoring. First his shot was denied by the Juventus keeper, who would make eight saves. Next some exquisite dribbling saw him evade Andrea Cambiaso repeatedly until he went down to the turf and laid off to his teammate to fire over.

Second-Half Drama

The Brazilian threw himself to halt Kalulu at the outset of the second half, and then came the regulation save from the keeper when suddenly Vlahović was away. The “assist” had been quite something, with Lloyd Kelly intercepting 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 appearing, Vlahović raced Militão, using his strength and advancing into the area where the keeper saved.

Next the usual pattern happened, the stop compensated for by the score that follows it. A burst from Vinícius Júnior set up it, working himself enough room amid four men to release a driven effort which hit the upright. Lurking in that striker’s role was the goalscorer. With the deadlock broken, Madrid should have finished it, the Frenchman denied by the keeper and the Uruguayan seeing his half-volley deflected 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 match was slipping away, 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 penalty box. Finally in the dying moments the Madrid keeper flew in to deny the midfielder, his work done. For Juve, there was no way back, Bellingham’s first of the season the final of the encounter.

“I'm overjoyed, a while now since I’ve scored, a period out and dreaming of that moment, back in the elite competition and against a big team. To score a winner, in our stadium, it’s unbelievable. I felt comfortable, really good. To perform was important and to net the match-winner benefits the team greatly.”

As for his performance, he continued: “I didn’t think last year was a disaster, with 15 goals, fourteen setups, but I know the general feeling was that it was worse. But I was a part of that, how we underperformed last year, there were nonetheless good moments but not the level I aim to play at, not the level like the debut season. Now I’ve had my operation, a different coach, he’s got that system, how we want to play…. You have to take lessons.”