Real Madrid 1-0 Juventus: Los Blancos maintain perfect Champions League start | OneFootball

Real Madrid went three for three in the Champions League, earning a 1-0 home victory over Juventus at the Santiago Bernabéu.

The game’s only goal came through the efforts of Jude Bellingham, who opened his account for the season upon his recent return from injury.

Juventus’s keeper Michele Di Gregorio registered a total of ten saves keeping the hosts to one goal, but his side are now without a win in seven games across all competitions.

As it happened

Real Madrid held possession for the first five minutes, but the first shot on target came from the Old Lady. Weston McKennie found room at the edge of the box and fired into the bottom corner, denied by Thibaut Courtois.

The American international was involved once again as he laid off the ball to Federico Gatti in a similar position. The Italian’s shot was searching for the corner, but Courtois dived to his right and collected the ball.

Federico Valverde was filling in at right back for the third successive game and created the first opportunity for Xabi Alonso’s side, with his cross deflected by a corner by Gatti. Real Madrid came close through the resulting set piece, as Aurélien Tchouaméni headed straight at Di Gregorio.

Los Blancos took control of proceedings midway through the first half. Valverde played the ball through to Brahim Díaz, whose right-footed shot was diverted for a corner.

And again, Juventus struggled to defend the subsequent set piece, as Valverde drilled the ball through to Tchouaméni, whose shot was deflected for another corner by Pierre Kalulu.

Corners continued to stack up for Real Madrid with Éder Militão being the latest to attempt a header which flew just over.

Arda Güler was active in the final third of the pitch, his shot landing straight into the hands of Di Gregorio after a layoff from Kylian Mbappé.

The Frenchman had previously scored against Juventus on four occasions, and he had Real’s best chance of the half. Brahim managed to squeeze past Lloyd Kelly before poking the ball through to the French international, whose left-footed strike was saved by Di Gregorio.

And soon Mbappé nearly became the provider as he dribbled past Andrea Cambiaso on the right side before playing the ball to the edge for Militão. The center-back narrowly missed the top corner as the score stayed goalless at the break.

Juventus started brighter in the second half as Militão was forced to dive in the way of a shot after Álvaro Carreras gifted the ball to Kalulu in the box.

Igor Tudor’s side really should have been in front on the 50-minute mark as Dušan Vlahović sprinted at goal from his own half. The Serbian international held off Militão, but was denied by a brilliant save from Courtois, who got a foot in the way.

Real Madrid were soon on the front foot again, with Bellingham heading wide after Güler’s delivery.

Down the other end, Juventus continued to test Courtois, Vlahović’s shot this time deflecting off Khéphren Thuram into the hands of the Belgian stopper.

The Bernabéu was treated to a goal in the 57th minute, and it was Real Madrid who broke the deadlock via the efforts of Bellingham. The Englishman was the first to capitalise inside the six-yard box after Vinícius Júnior’s got away from several defenders and saw his left-footed strike bounce off the right post.

The Bianconeri continued knocking on the door after conceding, and Courtois was forced into action again, gathering Kenan Yildiz’s shot in the bottom right-hand corner.

At the same time, Mbappé continued to search for his sixth Champions League goal of the season, but his right-footed shot from the edge of the box was easily collected by the keeper.

Di Gregorio soon became the night’s outstanding performer and the hero for Tudor’s side as his double save kept the score at 1-0. Vinícius switched the ball to the right side, where Real created an overload, but Di Gregorio denied both Mbappé’s strike and Brahim’s follow-up.

However, the Italian keeper was rooted to the spot in the next phase of play as the hosts looked certain for a second, yet this time Diaz was denied by Gatti, who made a crucial goal-line clearance.

The visitors refused to give up and looked threatening in the counterattacks. Substitute Loïs Openda had a great opportunity but took too much time on a ball, allowing Asensio to make the block at the cost of an injury.

Real Madrid had one more attempt, Mbappé’s long-range shot coming too close to the goalkeeper, with Di Gregorio making a comfortable save.

But it was Juventus with the game’s final chance as Filip Kostić curled a shot from the edge of the box with Courtois getting across and punching the ball away. A faultless night for the Belgian and high spirits for Alonso’s side ahead of Sunday’s Clásico.

The lineups

RMA: Courtois; Carreras, Militão, Asencio, Valverde; Güler, Tchouaméni, Bellingham; Vinícius, Mbappé, Brahim