Xabi Alonso's Real Madrid just don't know how to lose right now. The Spanish giants battled their way to another tough win, recording a narrow 1-0 victory over Juventus at the Santiago Bernabeu on Tuesday night. It wasn't the prettiest performance, but it was exactly what champions do: dig deep and get it done, just as they did in their narrow 1-nil victory against Getafe in La Liga.
Real's win means they've now gone five games unbeaten across all competitions, staying firmly on top of their Champions League group. However, the victory was not an easy one, as Juventus gave them a proper fight, just as Softfootball predicted in the pre-match report. Juventus, on the other hand, looked sharp early on. They started fast, with Thibaut Courtois being called into action several times, first to deny Weston McKennie, then pulling off another strong save from Federico Gatti inside the opening quarter-hour.
But gradually, Madrid began to settle. The tempo slowed, and the crowd could sense the control shifting. Even so, Juve's defence stood firm, and their goalkeeper Michele Di Gregorio was having one of those nights saving everything from Aurelien Tchouameni's drive to Kylian Mbappe's curling effort.