Madrid spent the majority of the first half peppering the Juventus goal. Twice Kylian Mbappe came close, and twice he was denied. Aurelien Tchouameni fired narrowly wide. Arda Guler, too, had a good chance. Juve had their moments, and forced Thibaut Courtois into a duo of tidy saves.
Courtois had to be called upon again early in the second half when Dusan Vlahovic ran through on goal, as the big Belgian reached low to deny the striker in a one-on-one. And Madrid took advantage. Bellingham grabbed the goal, but Vinicius made it. The Brazilian beat his man, and smashed a shot off the post. Bellingham ghosted in to turn home the rebound for his first goal of the season.
Los Blancos had further chances. Mbappe stung the keeper's palms. Bellingham threatened. Vinicius continued to create. But a second never quite came off. Still, one was enough on the night, Madrid picking up another valuable win ahead of Saturday's Clasico.
GOAL rates Real Madrid's players from the Santiago Bernabeu...
Goalkeeper & Defence
Thibaut Courtois (8/10):
Made a couple of immense saves to keep Madrid ahead early. Added to it with some impressive stops in the second half.
Federico Valverde (7/10):
Didn't allow anything down his side, and moved the ball well. Unlucky not to score, too. A real return to form.
Raul Asencio (6/10):
Put in a crucial block late on. Otherwise, a bit of a frantic evening. The space behind him was exploited too easily.
Eder Militao (8/10):
Made a couple of magical recovery runs, won his headers and put in an impressive block.
Alvaro Carreras (7/10):
Shielded effectively to let Vinicius work his magic.
Midfield
Aurelien Tchouameni (5/10):
A bit all over the place defensively, at times, and found himself overrun in central midfield - although the two in front of him are partially to blame.
Jude Bellingham (7/10):
Judged a rebound to take his goal well. Not quite altogether fluid, but he seems to be finding a rhythm.
Arda Guler (7/10):
Magical when he had the ball, full of clever twists and turns. Created seven chances. His defensive work and pressing still needs time, though.
Attack
Brahim Diaz (6/10):
Tidy when he had it, but not the most involved performance.
Kylian Mbappe (7/10):
Stung the keeper's palms consistently, got into good areas, but it didn't come off for him on the night.
Vinicius Jr (8/10):
A menace from the first minute. Ran at his man relentlessly. Deserves plenty of credit for the goal. Seems to have been shaken off some early season rust.
Subs & Manager
Eduardo Camavinga (7/10):
Late legs for the tired Guler.
Franco Mastantuono (N/A):
No time to make an impact.
Fran Garcia (N/A):
No time to make an impact.
Gonzalo Garcia (N/A):
No time to make an impact.
Xabi Alonso (8/10):
Went with arguably his strongest XI ahead of El Clasico. Madrid were good throughout, deserved more than just 1-0, and now have 9 points after three games. An excellent start.