‘A magical night’: Kylian Mbappé scores first Real Madrid goal in UEFA Super Cup victory over Atalanta
By Matias Grez, CNN
(CNN) — It took Kylian Mbappé just 68 minutes to open his account for Real Madrid as the French superstar helped Los Blancos to a 2-0 win over Atalanta in the UEFA Super Cup final.
Widely regarded as a glorified preseason friendly, the Super Cup is contested between the winners of last season’s Champions League and Europa League.
Both sides hit the woodwork in what was an even first half, the highlight coming when a stunning fingertip save from Thibaut Courtois denied Mario Pašalić what looked a certain opening goal for the Italian side.
Real finally found the breakthrough in the 59th minute when Federico Valverde tapped into an empty net after being set up by some brilliant play on the wing by Vinícius Jr.
Mbappé, who completed a free transfer to Real in June after letting his contract with Paris Saint-Germain expire, then ran onto Jude Bellingham’s low pass and fired his effort into the top corner to secure a record sixth Super Cup triumph for the club and for manager Carlo Ancelotti.
“It’s a magical night,” Mbappé told CBS after the game. “I’ve always dreamed about these types of night, and now, it’s a reality. Playing for this club, the best club in the world, is something crazy.
“I’m really happy to make my debut today. Of course, we won a trophy and it’s really important to win a trophy here because everybody’s won here.
“It’s a big pleasure for me to score a goal as a striker, to be there to score for my team is always a pleasure and I hope to improve to help the team more.”
Mbappé was effusive in his praise of his new teammates, calling Vinícius and Rodrygo “great players” and saying it is “easy to play with them” after some concerns about how he would fit in.
“That’s why this is Real Madrid and that’s why this is the best club in the world because we have the best players here,” he said. “It’s a pleasure to play with Rodrygo and Vinícius, also with Bellingham.”
Ancelotti said Mbappé did “really well” on his debut and stressed the importance of his star players playing as a team.
“It was the first game, he adapted really well to the team,” he said. “He combined well with Vinícius and with Bellingham.
“Of course, we have a lot of quality, but we have to be able to play together, we did tonight and this is good for us.”
Madrid kicks off its league season away at Mallorca on Sunday.
The-CNN-Wire
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