Real Madrid 3-1 Juventus
After looking out of sorts in their first game back following the summer break, Real Madrid made sure to bounce back big time in the ICC 2018 at the expense of their Champions League punching bag, Juventus.
Los Blancos lacked the usual sharpness in their opening game in the tournament and eventually fell 0-2 to Premier League giants Manchester United. They dominated possession in the match but were missing their finishing touch which led to their demise.
However, it was a different story for them this time. Obviously shrugging off the rust, Julen Lopetegui’s side came roaring and rightfully defeated Juventus who were missing their biggest summer signing and former Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo.
Highlights of the game
A 12th-minute own goal put Real Madrid behind, but that event did nothing but wake the sleeping giants as they played with more urgency to overturn the early mistake and delight their fans watching in the FedExField at Maryland.
Gareth Bale scored the equaliser for Los Blancos to get them going before halftime substitute Marco Asensio bagged a brace in a span of 10 minutes, allowing Real Madrid to pull away for good and give the Bianconeri their first defeat in the tournament.
Despite the slow start, it didn’t take long for Juve to get the lead when Dani Carvajal accidentally diverted the ball into his own net in the 14th minute. The 26-year-old defender attempted to cut Joao Cancelo’s cross inside the box but failed miserably as the ball bounced off him and past Keylor Navas who was only able to touch the ball with his fingertips.
The match was short of action and intensity in the opening 25 minutes as both sides struggled to find clear-cut chances to score. However, with Real Madrid consistently building some pressure, it was only a matter of time before they finally found the back of the net.
And so it proved when Bale struck from 25 yards out to level matters. The Welshman—who only had one notable shot against Manchester United—made up for his lack of clinical finishing in the previous game and hit a stunning half-volley to make it 1-1 on 39 minutes.
Bale picked up a loose ball right outside the Juve penalty area and took a nice one touch to set himself up for a powerful left-footed strike, leaving Wojciech Szczesny with no chance at all as the shot went to the upper left corner of the net.
It was all Real Madrid in the second half after a slew of changes made by Lopetegui shifted the flow of the game. Asensio and new signing Vinicius Junior—both halftime substitutes—linked up for an excellent counter to give the reigning Champions League titlists the lead for the first time in the match.
Vinicius Jr. impressed right off the bat with his sharp and direct running, and it proved to be a problem for Juve as they saw the Brazilian teenager lead a Real Madrid counter-attack just two minutes after the restart.
The €45-million signing from Flamengo provided a nifty pass to Asensio who, in turn, took the ball without hesitation to convert.
It was all over before the hour and the SBOBET odds on a perfect Juventus pre-season collapsed when Asensio completed his Real Madrid double with a beautiful sliding finish.
The closest that Max Allegri’s men could come to scoring was an injury-time free-kick from Federico Bernardeschi that hit the post.
Lopetegui has nothing but high praises for his team after the match and even refused to talk about Cristiano Ronaldo who, unsurprisingly, was the main talking point of ICC 2018 news before the Real Madrid-Juventus match-up.
“I don’t talk about players who don’t belong to Real Madrid, what I can say is that Marco and the others you mentioned were excellent today,” the former Spain manager said. “Marco was excellent playing a position he doesn’t normally play. He did it quite well as did the others and overall I’m extremely happy.”
Key statistics
Real Madrid had the lion share of possession and convincingly dominated large intervals with their accurate passing. They finished with 64 percent possession of the ball and 89 percent accuracy, way way better than Juve’s numbers (36 percent possession and 80 percent passing).
Los Blancos also had five shots on target compared to Juve who only had two proper opportunities to score.
Three yellow cards were given in the game though—too much for a “friendly” huh?
What’s next?
Lopetegui’s men face Roma next in their final game in the tournament. And with the way they played, it’s no wonder why the ICC 2018 betting odds are now swinging in their favour to secure back-to-back wins.
Juventus, on the other hand, are set to start their Serie A title defence in two weeks time and will hope that the addition of Ronaldo can push them to European glory.
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