Real Madrid defeated Juventus 1-0 in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday evening.
The visitors, Juventus, had a pretty bright start to the match, with their attacking players bursting up the pitch and putting pressure on Real Madrid's centre-backs; however, that quickly changed. Although they started second best, the hosts quickly asserted their dominance in the match, both in terms of possession and goalscoring opportunities. Madrid were causing plenty of problems in the wide areas with their wingers and full-backs, but they just couldn't find a good enough final ball into the box.
In the 40th minute, Madrid had their best chance of the match so far to take the lead, but Kylian Mbappe was denied by Michele Di Gregorio, who produced a brilliant save to keep the match level. The Frenchman was played through on goal by Brahim Diaz, and although his shot was from pretty close range, the angle made it difficult to convert.
The first half came to a close with the match level and goalless at 0-0.
Just minutes into the second half, Dusan Vlahovic had a golden opportunity to put his side in the lead, but as was the case with Mbappe's opportunity in the first half, Thibaut Courtois produced a brilliant save. The big Serbian showcased blistering pace and went on a marauding run on goal, but just couldn't find the back of the net.
Vlahovic's miss proved to be costly, as just minutes later, Madrid finally took the lead after being in control of the match for pretty much its entirety up to this point. Vinicius Junior showed some brilliant footwork to weave his way through some of the Juventus defenders in the box, and after getting his left-footed shot off, it fired off the post, but fell perfectly for Jude Bellingham from just a few yards out. Bellingham tapped it into the back of the net, and although it was a very simple finish, those late runs into the box are what he excels at.
In the 71st minute, Di Gregorio was called into action yet again, and this time he produced an immense double save to deny both Mbappe and Diaz from close range.
Juventus showed signs of a potential comeback late into the match, but they couldn't convert the ball into the back of the net, and Real Madrid took all three points with a 1-0 victory.
Real Madrid 1-0 Juventus - Match Statistics
Real Madrid
66
28
10
13
4
1
Match Highlights
To follow soon...
Real Madrid Player Ratings
Kylian Mbappe in action for Real Madrid against Juventus
GK: Thibaut Courtois - 8/10
Hardly had a single thing to do in the first half, but in the second, he made a brilliant save to deny Vlahovic, which was one of the most important moments in the match.
RB: Federico Valverde - 8/10
Linked up really well with Madrid's attacking players in the final third was also defensively flawless. Despite having a tough match ahead of him on paper against Yildiz, Valverde didn't put a foot wrong.
CB: Raul Asencio - 7.5/10
Looked quite shaky in some moments when Juventus threatened going forward, but didn't make any bad mistakes. Asencio was good at playing the ball out from the back and produced some important defensive actions as well.
CB: Eder Militao - 8/10
A very well-rounded performance from the Brazilian. Militao didn't put a foot wrong defensively and produced some important tackles, but he was also a threat in the final third, almost scoring on several occasions.
LB: Alvaro Carreras - 8/10
Saw more of the ball than any other player on the pitch, and he was very good and effective with it. The Spaniard occupied midfield and wide left areas well, and also defended smartly and aggressively, rarely giving Juventus' right flank a chance.
CM: Aurelien Tchouameni - 6.5/10
Despite never really making a mistake defensively and in possession of the ball, Tchouameni didn't have a great performance. At times, it seemed like he was holding up Madrid's attacks due to his unwillingness to pass forward and take risks to get further up the pitch.
CM: Arda Guler - 8.5/10
A superb creative performance from the Turk. Guler controlled the midfield for the majority of the match and looked like he was playing at a different pace than everyone else on the pitch. He created more chances than any other player and was pretty much faultless in possession.
CM: Jude Bellingham - 8.5/10 (Man of the Match)
The match winner. Not only did Bellingham score the all-important winning goal for Madrid, but he also put in a solid midfield display. The Englishman carried the ball well at times and made some really good runs into the box, but on most occasions, his runs weren't met by his teammates.
RW: Brahim Diaz - 7/10
Put in a good performance on the right wing, but probably should've scored at least one goal, as he had several good attempts on goal from close range.
ST: Kylian Mbappe - 7.5/10
Although he didn't get on the scoresheet, which has been a rarity for him this season so far, Mbappe put in a good performance as a creator. The French superstar not only threatened the Juventus back line with his pace and movement, but he also played some really good balls through to his teammates.
LW: Vinicius Junior - 7.5/10
A lively threat on the left wing throughout the match, and had a big part to play in the winning goal, as it was his shot which cannoned off the post and fell perfectly to Bellingham.
SUB: Eduardo Camavinga - N/A
Didn't do much after coming on.
SUB: Francisco Garcia - N/A
Didn't do much after coming on.
SUB: Franco Mastantuono - N/A
Didn't do much after coming on.
SUB: Gonzalo Garcia - N/A
Didn't do much after coming on.
Juventus Player Ratings
Dusan Vlahovic in action for Juventus against Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League
GK: Michele Di Gregorio - 8/10
Juventus' best and most important player. The Italian produced plenty of superb key saves throughout the match, and if it wasn't for him, Madrid would've won by a significant margin.
RWB: Pierre Kalulu - 5.5/10
Threatened with his pace in attacking areas down the right flank, but his end product was generally poor. Kalulu also struggled defensively against Vinicius Junior.
CB: Federico Gatti - 7.5/10
The best of Juventus' outfield players. Gatti didn't really put a foot wrong defensively despite being tested on plenty of occasions.
CB: Daniele Rugani - 6/10
Didn't really put a foot wrong in possession, but looked uncomfortable pretty much every time he had to deal with the pace and trickery of Madrid's attackers.
CB: Lloyd Kelly - 6/10
Like Cambiaso, Kelly saw quite a lot of the ball down the left flank, but didn't really do anything significant with it.
LWB: Andrea Cambiaso - 6/10
Saw plenty of the ball down the left flank but didn't really do much with it. Cambiaso played quite laid back and seemed to slow things down when they needed to counter quickly.
CM: Khephren Thuram-Ulien - 7/10
Put in a pretty good performance, but was controversially substituted after just an hour played. Thuram was probably Juventus' best midfielder and played with plenty of energy and passion, but still got taken off.
CM: Weston McKennie - 6.5/10
A solid box-to-box performance from the American. McKennie battled well in midfield, but also threatened going forward at times.
AM: Teun Koopmeiners - 5/10
Never really got into the match or had any significant moments.
AM: Kenan Yildiz - 6/10
Aside from having a shot on target from range in the second half, Yildiz didn't really get into the game and was dealt with quite easily down the left by Valverde.
ST: Dusan Vlahovic - 6.5/10
Despite not being given that much service up front on his own, Vlahovic did pretty well to make himself a nuisance to deal with. The big Serbian probably should've had a goal to his name, but was denied by a brilliant save from Courtois.
SUB: Chico Conceicao - N/A
Didn't do much after coming on.
SUB: Manuel Locatelli - N/A
Didn't do much after coming on.
SUB: Jonathan David - N/A
Didn't do much after coming on.
SUB: Ikoma Lois Openda - N/A
Didn't do much after coming on.
SUB: Filip Kostic - N/A
Didn't do much after coming on.