Bellingham Strikes as Xabi Alonso’s Real Madrid Edge Juventus to Stay Perfect in Champions League

Xabi Alonso’s Real Madrid maintained their flawless start to the UEFA Champions League campaign with a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Juventus at the Santiago Bernabéu — their fourth win in the last five head-to-head meetings with the Italian giants.

Despite Madrid’s recent dominance in Europe, it was Juventus who began on the front foot. The visitors, desperate to end a poor run of form, forced Thibaut Courtois into two early saves as the Belgian denied Weston McKennie and Federico Gatti inside the opening quarter-hour.

Real Madrid slowly grew into the contest, with Aurélien Tchouaméni testing Michele De Gregorio twice — first with a tame header, then a deflected strike that whistled just wide. The hosts’ best opportunity of the half arrived when Arda Güler played a delightful through ball to Kylian Mbappé, only for De Gregorio to rush out and smother the Frenchman’s effort.

Juventus again started brighter after the break, as Dušan Vlahović raced clear on goal, only to be thwarted by another sharp Courtois save. But just when it seemed the momentum was shifting toward the Bianconeri, Real Madrid struck.

Vinícius Júnior dazzled his way through the Juve defence before his shot ricocheted off the post. The rebound fell kindly for Jude Bellingham, who made no mistake from close range — his first goal of the season and his first since June — to hand Los Blancos the lead.

With the advantage secured, Madrid began to control proceedings, forcing De Gregorio into a string of superb saves. The Juventus keeper produced a remarkable double stop to deny Mbappé and Brahim Díaz, while Federico Gatti cleared another effort off the line to keep the visitors alive.

Juventus had one last chance to salvage a point late on, but Loïs Openda was unable to pull the trigger before Raúl Asencio intervened with a crucial block.

The result keeps Real Madrid’s perfect Champions League record intact ahead of this weekend’s El Clásico, while Juventus’s struggles continue — now winless in seven matches and drifting outside the qualification places in the UCL league phase.