A 2-0 win over Atalanta on Wednesday in Warsaw was Kylian Mbappe’s first game for Real Madrid. The goal helped his team win a record sixth UEFA Super Cup.
The star French forward has been waiting years to play for his dream team, Real Madrid. He finally made the move this summer when his contract with Paris Saint-Germain expired, and he scored on his first game for Real.
Fede Valverde scored a close-range goal for the leaders of the Champions League in the 59th minute. The Italians, who won the Europa League, played well in the first half.
Madrid had a lot of chances, and Mbappe scored the game-winner with a rocket in the 68th minute after Jude Bellingham saw him dart into the box.
Mbappe told Movistar in perfect Spanish, “It was a great night. I’ve been waiting for this moment for a long time.”
“It’s a gift for me to play with this shirt and badge on for these fans.”
“We won a trophy too, that’s very important, we know that here we always have to win and I am very happy.”
With Madrid’s win, coach Carlo Ancelotti tied previous Real Madrid coach Miguel Munoz for the most titles won by a club manager with 14.
This season, the Italian’s first job is to come up with a method that will help all of his attacking stars do their best.
From the start, Mbappe played in the middle of Madrid’s forward line, with Vinicius Junior on the left and Rodrygo Goes on the right. This was Ancelotti’s first look at how he might fit into his plans this season.
Because of this, England international Bellingham played in the middle of the pitch with two other players instead of up front, where he started the season and scored a lot of goals.
Ancelotti told Movistar that Mbappe “has the skills to score a lot of goals.”
“What we have to look for is balance in the team — today we didn’t have that balance.”
In a tight first half, Mbappe had only one chance, which came in the 15th minute. He shot from the middle of the box, but Isak Hien stopped it well.
Atalanta, coached by Gian Piero Gasperini, played in their first Super Cup after beating Bayer Leverkusen in the Europa League final last year. Eder Militao nearly put Atalanta ahead when he headed Marten de Roon’s cross over the bar.
Atalanta custodian Juan Musso was tackled late by Bellingham as he moved forward from midfield after Vinicius’s clever pass. Bellingham was given a yellow card for the action.
Just before halftime, Vinicius set up Rodrygo, who hit the top of Atalanta’s goal.
Thibaut Courtois, the Madrid custodian who was hurt for most of last season, made an amazing one-handed save to tip over a Mario Pasalic header at the start of the second half.
