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It may not have been a classic encounter, the chanting from the Santiago Bernabéu was familiar. After a long wait, Jude Bellingham once again found himself before the home supporters with his arms wide open, listening to the fans' singing of Hey Jude. After a shoulder injury and uncertainty about his position, he scored his opening strike of the campaign, ultimately delivering a 1-0 victory for Real Madrid over a Italian opponent that made them work hard. “We had to sweat for it,” stated the Belgian goalkeeper.

Key Saves Secure the Win

The shot-stopper understood perfectly well, having to save a one-on-one from Dušan Vlahović and make another decisive save from Khéphren Thuram in the final minute. This result puts Madrid on a strong tally and Igor Tudor’s team below the cut. After a game with plenty of attempts but little elegance, the visiting coach may reflect on a decent start, with those opportunities representing a wasted moment around the closing stages; their current situation though presents concerning reading.

“An Italian team in difficulty is twice as dangerous,” the Madrid coach had warned beforehand.

Juventus, who were without a victory since last month, posed Madrid problems at the beginning and again near the conclusion. Madrid dominated possession, 66%-34%, but Juventus threatened on the break, especially with Pierre Kalulu surging forward and the striker combining, firing off 12 shots compared to the hosts' twenty-seven.

Promising Start for Visitors

They had started well, without a doubt. After just three minutes, they believed they were in front, Vlahović somewhat unlucky to be penalized for pulling Éder Militão. Shortly after, the Madrid defender had to slide in front of Vlahović when the wing-back broke free on the right flank. And three minutes after that, the American midfielder's shot was pushed past the post.

What followed, from the defender's powerful strike, was a even better save. A quarter of an hour had passed. That said, soon the visitors' impetus had faded too. Madrid took control. Largely it was rather mechanical, though, and the top chances came to the French midfielder, who wouldn’t be Alonso’s striker of choice. Two were headed over, a third deflected wide; an additional chance with the head was wasted by the center-back.

Turkish Talent Impresses

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

There was not much sign of the French superstar early on, but when he did appear it was the closest Madrid got to a goal. Initially his shot was denied by the Juventus keeper, who would make several stops. Then some lovely fast footwork saw him evade the full-back twice until he went down to the turf and set up his teammate to blast over.

Second-Half Drama

The Brazilian threw himself to stop Kalulu at the start 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 ball deflecting from the inside of his boot directly through the center to beyond the halfway line. Racing after it, huge space appearing, the striker outpaced Militão, holding him off and advancing into the box where Courtois saved.

Then what tends to happen happened, the stop compensated for by the score that comes after it. A burst from the Brazilian winger set up it, working himself enough room amid four men to release a driven effort which struck the post. Positioned in that forward position was the goalscorer. The breakthrough found, Madrid should have finished it, the Frenchman stopped by the keeper and the Uruguayan seeing his half-volley deflected by the defender. Subsequently the Juventus goalkeeper made a brilliant double stop from the forward and Brahim Díaz.

It was not the only one: as the game was slipping away, Raúl Asencio had to make a stunning sliding block as Madrid were opened up and at the mercy of Loïs Openda unmarked in the penalty box. Then in the final seconds Courtois flew in to deny the midfielder, his job complete. For the visitors, there was no way back, the opening goal of the season the last of the match.

“It’s a great feeling, a long time now since I’ve found the net, a lot of time out and dreaming of that instant, back in the Champions League and against a big team. To score a winner, here at home, it’s incredible. I felt comfortable, really good. To perform was important and to net the match-winner helps the team a lot.”

As for his performance, he added: “I didn’t think last year was a disaster, still fifteen strikes, fourteen setups, but I understand the perception was that it was poorer. But I was a contributor to that, how we underperformed last year, there were nonetheless positive spells but not the standard I want to play at, not the caliber like the debut season. Now I’ve had my operation, a different coach, he’s got that shape, how we intend to play…. You have to take lessons.”