Published August 25, 2024, 19:48
Football in SpainReal Madrid triumphs, Kylian Mbappé disappoints
In his first match at the Santiago Bernabéu, the French star failed to shine on Sunday during Madrid’s victory against Valladolid (3-0).
The debut of the French captain in Madrid is not going as he wished.
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Still lacking synergy, Real Madrid secured their first victory of the season against promoted Valladolid (3-0) on Sunday at the Santiago Bernabéu, where French superstar Kylian Mbappé did not shine in his home debut.
Struggling in play without their English prodigy Jude Bellingham, injured and unavailable for several weeks, the reigning champions of Spain and Europe relied on the powerful strike of their Uruguayan midfielder Federico Valverde, who broke through the wall on an indirectly taken free kick (50th min, 1-0), and the talent of substitutes Brahim Diaz (88th min, 2-0) and Endrick (90+6th min, 3-0) at the end of the match.
Many inaccuracies
After a complicated first match in Mallorca (1-1) last week, Kylian Mbappé experienced a frustrating baptism in his new playground, where he had been introduced as a rock star in July, far from the immense expectations surrounding his free transfer after seven seasons at Paris Saint-Germain.
Positioned in the center, supported by the two Brazilian wingers Vinicius Jr. and Rodrygo, the captain of the French team tried to combine with his teammates inside or deep, but often lacked technical precision, exemplified by several missed controls or dribbles throughout the match.
He still created two clear chances, one in the first half with a left-foot volley that forced Estonian goalkeeper Karl Hein to stretch to prevent the opening goal (10th min) and another attempt at a backheel at the near post, also deflected by the Arsenal-trained goalkeeper (79th min).
Valladolid misses its chance
The promoted team came to defend and did quite well, succeeding in neutralizing the Madrid attacking trio with two very compact lines, and could have equalized at the end of the match. Senegalese striker Mamadou Sylla came within a few centimeters of beating Thibaut Courtois (80th min).
A few minutes later, Moroccan playmaker Brahim Diaz, who came on for Arda Güler and was sent deep by Eder Militao, outpaced Hein to double the lead with a nice lob (88th min, 2-0). Young Brazilian sensation Endrick then scored his first goal wearing the merengue jersey in stoppage time (90+6th min, 3-0).
With four points from two matchdays, Real is temporarily on the podium behind their great rivals FC Barcelona and Celta Vigo, the only two teams to have won their first two matches, while waiting for the result of the evening clash between Atlético and Girona at the Metropolitano (21:30).
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(afp)