- Champions League winner Real Madrid wins the UEFA Super Cup in Warsaw against the Europa League champions Atalanta Bergamo with 2:0.
- The decisive goals come after the hour mark, with Federico Valverde scoring first and Kylian Mbappé scoring 10 minutes later.
- For the new Real superstar, who was largely ineffective in his first competitive match, it is a successful debut.
This year’s UEFA Super Cup final was likely anticipated with more excitement than ever before. All this was due to just one player: Kylian Mbappé. For days, the focus around the clash between Champions League winner Real Madrid and Europa League winner Atalanta Bergamo revolved around the new Real superstar. Would he start? Would he score? Would he win a title right away?
All three questions can be answered with “Yes” after the 90 minutes officiated by Swiss referee Sandro Schärer at the Stadion Narodowy in Warsaw. Real Madrid, with Mbappé in the starting lineup, defeated Atalanta 2:0 and thus claims the 6th title, making them the sole record winners of this competition. Real’s new number 9 provided what seemed to be a decisive moment with the 2:0 in the 68th minute.
Atalanta closer to 1:0 for a long time
After this second setback, not much came from the Italians. This was in stark contrast to the minutes before: The team coached by Gian Piero Gasperini made life extremely difficult for the “Royal” for an hour. Defensively, the Bergamasques, including former FC Zurich player Berat Djimsiti, were mostly solid, while offensively they continually created danger.
For instance, in the 25th minute, captain Marten de Roon took a shot from a tight angle, and the effort hit the crossbar via Real defender Eder Militao. Shortly after the restart, Mario Pasalic also failed to score with a header, thwarted by a brilliant reaction from Thibaut Courtois. A lead at that point would not have been undeserved – even though Rodrygo had also hit the bar just before halftime.
Bellingham finds Mbappé
Then out of nowhere, Real Madrid took the lead with the calmness of a champion. Jude Bellingham passed the ball to Vinicius Junior in the penalty area. The Brazilian left Djimsiti behind with a feint and set up Federico Valverde in the center, who only had to tap it in (60).
After further top chances from Vinicius Junior (61) and Bellingham (62/66), the big moment came in the 68th minute: First, Vinicius Junior unsuccessfully searched for his new strike partner Mbappé in the center, but Bellingham then demonstrated great vision with a pass to the Frenchman. Mbappé had no trouble slotting the ball into the net from the penalty spot position.
What’s next
For Real Madrid, the league begins in earnest away at Mallorca on Sunday. Atalanta will start their Serie A season on Monday in Lecce.