Emotional Mbappe makes dream Real start

SERGEI GAPON/ AFP

Kylian Mbappe could not have anticipated a better start to his Real Madrid career as he scored a debut goal to help his new team win the European Super Cup on Wednesday.

Mbappe fired the ball into the top corner from Jude Bellingham's pass to double Real's lead in a 2-0 victory over Atalanta.

"Before the game, we didn't even talk about (whether he would score), we just expected it to happen," man-of-the match Bellingham told reporters.

"It's a kind of player who writes his own history... Time and time again, he delivers for his team and he did it again tonight."

Mbappe, who scored 44 goals for Paris St Germain last season, clinched his first European trophy after winning seven Ligue 1 titles with PSG and Monaco.

He previously came closest to European glory in 2019-20, when PSG finished Champions League runners-up after losing the final 1-0 to Bayern Munich.

"Mbappe did really well, he adapted really well to the team," Real coach Carlo Ancelotti said.

"He combined well with Vinicius Junior and with Bellingham. Of course, we have a lot of quality, but we have to play together and we did that tonight."

After joyfully posing with his first continental silverware, Mbappe appeared overwhelmed by emotion.

"It was a great night. It's a great moment for me. And we won a title, which is important – at Madrid you always have to win," he said.

"I am very happy. And with the goal too – it is important for a striker like me. But the most important thing has been to have the pleasure of playing with this team."

Mbappe also helped Ancelotti become the coach who has brought the most major trophies to Real Madrid, the Italian levelling the tally of 14 by Miguel Munoz who managed the Spanish giants from 1948-58.

More from Sports News

  • Ireland beat India for first time in international cricket

    Abhishek Sharma's 19-ball fifty went in vain as world champions India were surprisingly beaten by Ireland for the first time in international cricket, slumping to a 34-run defeat in the first Twenty20 in Belfast on Friday.

  • Usyk vacates titles before 'last dance'

    Oleksandr Usyk said on Friday he had vacated his WBC, WBA and IBF heavyweight championships to pursue a final fight.

  • England roar back in second test against New Zealand

    England roared back into contention on the second day of the third and deciding test against New Zealand with Ben Duckett's rapid century helping his side to 223-2 after three wickets for returning captain Ben Stokes helped to dismiss the visitors for 438 at a sizzling Trent Bridge.

  • Williams to face Australia's Joint in Wimbledon comeback

    American great Serena Williams will face Australian 20-year-old Maya Joint in the first round of her eagerly awaited return to Wimbledon, a potentially tricky tie for the seven-time champion playing at the tournament for the first time since 2022.

  • Australia reach World Cup knockouts, Turkey beat USA

    Australia booked their spot in the knockout rounds of the World Cup on Thursday after a cagey draw against Paraguay, who are set to qualify as a third-placed finisher, while Turkey beat USA 3-2, scoring the winner with virtually the last kick of the match.

News