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It may not have been a match for the ages, the chanting from the Santiago Bernabéu was unmistakable. Having been absent for some time, Jude Bellingham finally found himself before the south end with his arms outstretched, basking in the fans' singing of Hey Jude. Following a lengthy layoff and uncertainty about his role, he scored his first goal of the campaign, ultimately securing a narrow win for Real Madrid over a Italian opponent that put up a fight. “It was a tough battle,” stated Thibaut Courtois.

Key Saves Secure the Win

Courtois knew perfectly well, having to rescue a clear chance from Dušan Vlahović and make another decisive save from Khéphren Thuram in the final minute. The win puts Madrid on nine points and the opposition team below the cut. At the end of a game with plenty of attempts but little elegance, the visiting coach may reflect on a promising opening, with those saves representing a wasted moment around the closing stages; the team's reality however makes for worrying statistics.

“A side from Italy in difficulty is twice as dangerous,” Xabi Alonso had warned in advance.

Juventus, which were without a victory since last month, did cause Madrid problems at the beginning and again near the conclusion. Madrid commanded possession, 66%-34%, but Juventus threatened on the break, especially with Pierre Kalulu running and the striker linking up, managing a dozen attempts compared to the home side's twenty-seven.

Promising Start for Away Side

The visitors began brightly, certainly. After just three minutes, they thought they were in front, Vlahović a little unlucky to be penalized for pulling Éder Militão. Shortly after, Raúl Asencio had to intervene in front of him when the wing-back broke free on the right. And soon after, the American midfielder's effort was deflected past the post.

What followed, from Federico Gatti's powerful strike, was a even better save. Fifteen minutes had gone. However, soon the Italians' momentum had dissipated too. Madrid assumed command. Largely it was all a bit functional, though, and the three best opportunities fell to Aurélien Tchouaméni, who wouldn’t be Alonso’s striker of choice. Two were off target, a third one deflected wide; an additional headed opportunity was missed by the center-back.

Guler Shines

Most creative play came from the young Turk. Güler, whose play was the nearest thing there was to fluidity, was always involved. His neat stop and turn saw him clip to the far post for Bellingham.

There was not much sign of Kylian Mbappé yet, but when he did appear it was the closest Madrid came to scoring. First his shot was stopped by Michele Di Gregorio, who would produce eight saves. Next some exquisite dribbling saw him evade the full-back repeatedly until he went down to the turf and laid off to his teammate to fire over.

Second-Half Drama

Militão threw himself to stop the runner at the start of the second half, and then came the customary Courtois rescue when suddenly Vlahović was away. The “inadvertent pass” had been remarkable, with Lloyd Kelly intercepting a pass inside his own area and the ball bouncing from the instep of his boot directly through the middle to past the halfway line. Sprinting after it, huge space appearing, Vlahović outpaced his marker, using his strength and heading into the area where Courtois made the stop.

Next what tends to happen happened, the stop made good by the goal that follows it. A burst from the Brazilian winger set up it, creating enough room amid four men to unleash a low, left-footed shot which struck the upright. Lurking in that forward position was Bellingham. The breakthrough found, Madrid should have finished it, Mbappé stopped by Di Gregorio and Fede Valverde seeing his volley deflected by Gatti. Subsequently Di Gregorio 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 incredible last-ditch tackle as Madrid were exposed and at the risk of the substitute momentarily alone in the area. Finally in the final seconds Courtois flew in to deny the midfielder, his job done. For the visitors, there was no way back, Bellingham’s first of the season the last of the match.

“I'm overjoyed, a long time now since I’ve scored, a period out and dreaming of that instant, back in the elite competition and against a big team. To score a winner, here at home, it’s incredible. I felt comfortable, really good. To play well was important and to score the winning goal helps the team a lot.”

Regarding his performance, he continued: “It wasn't that last year was a disaster, still fifteen strikes, 14 assists, but I know the general feeling was that it was poorer. But I was a part of that, how we underperformed last year, there were nonetheless positive spells but not the level I aim to play at, not the caliber like the debut season. Now I’ve had my shoulder surgery, a new manager, he’s got that shape, how we want to play…. You have to learn from it.”