Pierre-Philippe MARCOU
Still lacking in automatisms, Real Madrid secured their first victory of the season on Sunday against promoted Valladolid (3-0) at the Santiago Bernabéu, where French superstar Kylian Mbappé did not shine on his home debut.
Struggled in the game without its English prodigy Jude Bellingham, injured and unavailable for several weeks, the reigning Spanish and European champion relied on the striking power of its Uruguayan midfielder Federico Valverde, who pierced the wall with an indirect free kick (50th, 1-0), and the talent of its substitutes Brahim Diaz (88th, 2-0) and Endrick (90th+6, 3-0) at the very end of the match.
After a complicated debut in Mallorca (1-1) last week, Kylian Mbappé had a frustrating baptism in his new garden, where he had been presented as a rock star in July, far from the enormous expectations that accompanied his free transfer after seven seasons at Paris Saint-Germain.
Positioned in the axis, supported by the two Brazilian arrows Vinicius and Rodrygo, the captain of the French team tried to combine with his partners inside or in depth, but he often lacked technical accuracy, like several missed controls or dribbles during the match.
He still had two clear chances, one in the first half on a left-footed volley which forced Estonian goalkeeper Karl Hein to relax to avoid opening the scoring (10th) and an attempt by Madjer at the near post also deflected by the Arsenal-trained goalkeeper (79th).
Pierre-Philippe MARCOU
“He’s a spectacular striker, very fast, he moves well without the ball, he attacks the depth… He had three or four chances tonight and I think that in this position (of 9) he will score, as he always has. I don’t think he needs to play on the left or anywhere else, he will score goals in the center,” Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti said about him in a press conference.
Moroccan playmaker Brahim Diaz, who came on in place of Arda Güler and was sent into the deep by Eder Militao, beat Hein to double the lead with a nice lob (88th, 2-0), and young Brazilian star Endrick then scored his first goal for the Merengue jersey at the end of added time (90th+6, 3-0).
With four points from two games, Real are provisionally fourth behind their great rivals FC Barcelona and Celta Vigo, the only two teams to have won their first two matches.
– Griezmann guide l’Atlético –
Pierre-Philippe MARCOU
Later in the evening, Atlético Madrid also picked up their first win of the season in La Liga by dominating Girona (3-0) in the clash of this second day thanks in particular to a goal from Antoine Griezmann.
Omnipresent in his team’s game, the French striker opened the scoring with a clever free kick (39th, 1-0) after a gross error by opposing goalkeeper Paulo Gazzaniga, who could have been sent off for handling the ball outside his area.
Spanish midfielder Marcos Llorente doubled the lead after the break with a powerful shot under the bar (48th, 2-0), before a third goal from Koke at the very end of the match (90th+4, 3-0).
Atlético, ambitious this season with the recruitment of Franco-Spanish defender Robin Le Normand, English midfielder Conor Gallagher, Norwegian striker Alexander Sorloth and Argentinian Julian Alvarez, occupies third place in the standings thanks to this victory with a better goal difference than Real.
