Blanco Noise

Exhilarating is an understatement to describe the atmosphere on a Champions League night in the gorgeous city of Madrid. There is truly unlike anything in the world of sport that compares to a UCL night at the Santiago Bernabéu. It is evident that the club’s success in the competition brings a desire for fans to attend these matches if possible, or even just be within the proximity of the stadium to watch at a local pub. It is a spectacle to behold whether a fan of football or not.

With the new format of the Champions League competition, stakes have never felt higher. Clubs play more teams than they did in the previous group stage, with more weight held in each match. This match in particular however, holds more controversy over the course of previous years. For those not familiar with the timeline of late between these two clubs in the competition, maybe the final in the 2016/2017 season rings a bell. Real Madrid laid an absolute beatdown on Juventus in the final, 4-1, against arguably one of the strongest Juventus sides within this past decade. Fast forward to the following season, Real Madrid knocked Juventus out of the competition again in the quarterfinals winning on aggregate.

This match had much anticipation for both sides heading into the match. Whether it was the prior history as mentioned before, the victory Madrid had in the FIFA Club World Cup this summer against Juventus, or the fact that both sides were playing with new managers hired within the last year, many questions surrounded the quality of both these squads. With two talent ladened rosters, it was going to be a thriller, that was until the game kicked off.

Both clubs initially made a hot start with intensity flaring, but come the 15th minute, energy began to lack on both ends of the pitch. This all changed around the 25th minute when Dušan Vlahović changed the trajectory of the game for Juventus. He spread the defensive line Real Madrid was holding freeing up more space on the pitch. This amplified space on the pitch came to fruition when a ball played up top sent Vlahović through on goal with only Courtois to beat. By what felt like a miracle in the eyes of a neutral fan, but more so confidence for Madridistas, Thibaut Courtois made an exceptional save to keep Juventus out of goal. Shortly after this chance, the halftime whistle was blown and both sides entered the tunnel with nothing to separate the two.

“HALA MADRID!” the fans ring out across the stadium as the second half begins. Something changed in the dressing room for the boys in white as they came out with a vengeance. I haven’t spoke much about Bellingham until this point, but WOW did he make a difference towards the end of the first half and opening the second. His ability to create space within the middle of the pitch caused nightmares for Juventus. This cool and controlled chaos Bellingham brings to the middle of the pitch is what has made him so successful in his first three seasons at the club. With Jude pulling defenders more centrally, this allowed Vinicius Jr., Mbappe, and Valverde to create spaces out wide for insightful balls through.

Finally, in the 57th minute of the match, Vinicus Jr. was able to rifle a ball from outside the 18 yard-box which ricocheted off the post. Just when Madridistas thought a chance came up just short, who else but Jude Bellingham to find himself in another great field of space to finish with an easy tap-in.

For the remainder of the second half Madrid had their foot on the gas creating havoc for Juventus. This continued up until the final 15 minutes of the game when Juventus made some key changes on the cusp of stoppage time. With a hefty amount of stoppage time at the end of the match, things began to look a bit shaky for Real Madrid, however they tightened up with changes of their own to ultimately see out the match until the final whistle.

While as beautiful the scene was post-match in the stadium, the real story laid within the post match press conference. Igor Tudor was the first manager to speak, and he was met with some challenging questions. He was already on the hot seat as a manager, but this match was one of the nails in the coffin for his managerial stint at Juventus.

The night came to a close when Xabi Alonso spoke to the media speaking highly of both Arda Guler, Bellingham, and Cortouis, who all had stellar performances. Ultimately it was Los Blancos who came away with a superb victory to continue building momentum in what has been an incredible campaign under Xabi Alonso until this point.