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It may not have been a classic encounter, the roar from the Santiago Bernabéu was familiar. Having been absent for some time, Jude Bellingham once again stood before the home supporters with his arms wide open, basking in the crowd's singing of his anthem. After a shoulder injury and questions about his position, he scored his first goal of the campaign, ultimately delivering a narrow win for Real Madrid over a Juventus side that made them work hard. “We had to sweat for it,” stated Thibaut Courtois.

Decisive Stops Secure the Victory

The shot-stopper knew perfectly well, having to save a clear chance from the Serbian striker and make another crucial save from Khéphren Thuram in the final minute. This result leaves Madrid on nine points and the opposition team below the cut. At the end of a game with more shots than fluid football, 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 doubly threatening,” Xabi Alonso had remarked beforehand.

Juventus, which hadn’t won since last month, posed Madrid issues at the start and once more near the end. Madrid dominated possession, with a significant advantage, but Juventus were dangerous on the break, particularly with Pierre Kalulu running and Vlahović combining, firing off 12 shots compared to the hosts' twenty-seven.

Strong Opening for Visitors

They had started well, certainly. After just three minutes, they thought they were in front, the forward somewhat unlucky to be penalized for pulling the Brazilian defender. Shortly after, the Madrid defender had to intervene in front of Vlahović when the wing-back broke free on the right. And three minutes after that, Weston McKennie's effort was deflected wide.

What followed, from Federico Gatti's powerful strike, was a even better save. Fifteen minutes had passed. However, soon the visitors' impetus had dissipated as well. Madrid took control. Mostly it was all a bit functional, however, and the three best opportunities came to Aurélien Tchouaméni, who is not the coach's preferred forward. Two were headed over, a third deflected wide; an additional chance with the head was missed by Militão.

Guler Shines

Most creative play came from the young Turk. The Turk, whose play was the nearest thing there was to smooth attacking, was constantly in the action. His clever control and spin saw him clip 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 nearest Madrid got to scoring. Initially his attempt was stopped by the Juventus keeper, who would produce several stops. Then some lovely fast footwork saw him evade the full-back repeatedly until he went down to the ground and set up his teammate to fire over.

Second-Half Drama

Militão dived to stop Kalulu at the outset of the second period, and then came the regulation Courtois rescue when unexpectedly the attacker was away. The “assist” had been remarkable, with the defender cutting out a pass inside his own area and the ball deflecting from the instep of his foot directly through the middle to past the center circle. Sprinting after it, ample room opening, the striker raced his marker, holding him off and heading into the box where Courtois saved.

Then the usual pattern happened, the save made good by the goal that comes after it. A burst from the Brazilian winger set up it, working himself enough room amid multiple defenders to release a low, left-footed shot which hit the upright. Positioned in that striker’s role was Bellingham. The breakthrough found, Madrid ought to have sealed the game, the Frenchman stopped by the keeper and Fede Valverde seeing his volley deflected by Gatti. Subsequently the Juventus goalkeeper made a brilliant double stop from Mbappé and the attacking midfielder.

There were more scares: as the game 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 penalty box. Then in the dying moments the Madrid keeper flew in to deny the midfielder, his work done. For Juve, there was no route to a comeback, the opening goal of the campaign the final of the match.

“I'm overjoyed, a while now since I’ve scored, a period out and thinking of that instant, back in the elite competition and against a big team. To get the decisive goal, in our stadium, it’s incredible. I felt comfortable, excellent. To play well was important and to net the match-winner helps the team greatly.”

Regarding his form, he added: “I didn’t think last year was a failure, still fifteen strikes, fourteen setups, but I understand the general feeling was that it was poorer. But I was a part of that, how we didn’t play as well last year, there were still good moments but not the standard I want to play at, not the level like the first year. Now I’ve had my operation, a new manager, he’s got that system, how we intend to play…. You have to learn from it.”