Kylian Mbappe, 26, had a dream Real Madrid debut.
Real Madrid defeated Atalanta 2-0 in the European Football Association (UEFA) Super Cup at the Stadion Narodowy in Warsaw, Poland, on Friday (June 15).
The UEFA Super Cup pits the winner of the UEFA Champions League (UCL) from the previous season against the winner of the UEFA Europa League (UEL) in a one-off match. With this victory, Real Madrid reached the top of the UEFA Super Cup for the second time in two years, making it their sixth overall victory. This is the most in history, surpassing Barcelona and AC Milan.
Real Madrid opted for a 4-3-3 formation. Vinicius Junior-Mbappe-Hodrigo, Jude Bellingham-Aurelien Chouameni-Federico Valverde, Per Mendy-Antonio Rudiger-Eder Militant-Dani Carvajal, and Thibaut Courtois started in the back four.
Atalanta lined up in a 3-4-1-2 formation.
Ademola Lucman-Charles Duckettelaar, Mario Paszalic, Matteo Ruggeri-Marton Deron-Ederson-Davide Zappacosta, Sead Kolasinac-Isaac Hien-Berat Zimcic, Juan Musso, and Juan Musso started up front.
It was a spectacular start to the third Galactico for Mbappe, who ended a seven-year spell with Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) this summer and signed a five-year contract with Real Madrid as a free agent. Mbappé is finally wearing the jersey of his childhood dream club, Real Madrid.
Mbappe is now Real Madrid’s number 9. He celebrated by raising his arms in the air with president Florentino Perez at his signing ceremony last month, 파워볼실시간 and then walked around the stadium to greet the fans for the first time. The Real Madrid fans welcomed him with a rousing ovation. Zinedine Zidane was also on hand to congratulate him.
“I can’t believe I’m here,” Mbappe said in fluent Spanish. I have been dreaming for many years that I wanted to play for Real Madrid and today my dream has come true. I am so happy. First of all, I want to thank President Pérez for believing in me from day one. A lot has happened, but I want to say thank you. It was very difficult, but we won. “My family is happy, my mother is crying, it’s an unbelievable day,” he said, ”I’m finally a Real Madrid player. I will give my life for this club and this emblem,” he said in emotion.
Mbappe also paid homage to Cristiano Ronaldo’s (Al Nasr) Real Madrid debut 15 years ago.
He left the field to the cheers of a clouded crowd, chanting “One, two, three, alla Madrid!” as his idol did.
Mbappe then made his debut in the starting lineup against Atalanta. He had only been training with the team for a week after suffering a broken nose at the UEFA Euro 2024, but he was ready to go.
Mbappe fired off his first shot in a Real Madrid shirt in the 15th minute, when he was unstoppable on a low cross from Valverde. However, the ball got caught in the Atalanta defense.
Mbappe didn’t have to wait long for his debut goal, as he scored the goal of a lifetime in the 23rd minute of the second half, after the team had taken a 1-0 lead on Valverde’s strike. Bellingham crossed the ball between the defenses on the left side of the box. Despite being in a tight space, Mbappe took the pass and fired a powerful shot into the back of the net before performing his trademark ‘arms in the air’ gesture.
Having done his job,
Mbappe exited the field in the 38th minute of the second half, replaced by Brahim Dias. Real Madrid finished the match without conceding a goal and added a sixth Super Cup title to their record. Mbappe celebrated with his teammates as they lifted the trophy.
After the game, Mbappe told Movistar: “It was a great night. I’ve been waiting for this moment for a long time. To play with this jersey, with this emblem, for these fans. It’s a gift for me.” In fluent Spanish, of course.
He added: “It’s very important to win trophies. We know that we always have to win (in Madrid). I’m very happy that I was decisive in my debut as a striker. But more importantly, it’s a pleasure to play,” he added.
Mbappe is confident that he can achieve anything with Real Madrid.
When asked about his goals, he said: “We are at Real Madrid. There are no limits for us. “If I can score 50 goals, then (the goal is) 50 goals. But the most important thing is to win and improve as a team. Because we’re going to win as a team.”
Bellingham and head coach Carlo Ancelotti were also smiling at Mbappe’s performance. Bellingham said: “Mbappe is brilliant. He’s so sharp. His technical quality is really high and he’s a great teammate. Credit to him,” he said. “Mbappe did really well, he adapted well to the team, he played well with Vissinius and Bellingham,” said Ancelotti, who added: ”Of course we have a lot of quality, but we have to play together. We did that tonight.”